by Web Editor | Jun 29, 2018 | News
Offsite design-build company Katerra and India-based manufacturing technology company KEF Infra have announced a merger that will see the newly formed KEF Katerra begin conducting operations in India and the Middle East. KEF Katerra, according to MEP Middle East, already has $3.7 billion in bookings.
Both companies use offsite manufacturing and technology as part of the “end-to-end” building services they provide. KEF Infra also uses robotics and automation in its manufacturing business and produces items like pre-cast concrete, prefabricated bathroom pods and aluminum and glazing facades. Katerra said it will also employ KEF Infra’s pre-cast technology in the U.S. market.
In addition to housing, the company will focus on building community infrastructure assets like hospitals and schools. Post-merger Katerra will have a total of 20 offices and 3,400 employees around the world.
Earlier this month, Katerra sealed the second of two acquisition deals in as many weeks. Those transactions, intended to increase the companies’ design capabilities in the U.S., saw the company enter into agreements with Portland, Oregon-based Michael Green Architecture and Lord Aeck Sargent in Atlanta. After those deals were complete, Katerra had 31 U.S. state architecture licenses plus credentials in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, and saw its staff size double. Green’s area of expertise is in the use of mass timber, and it designed the T3 mass timber office building in Minneapolis. One of Lord’s focuses is sustainable, urban projects.
In addition to its plans for growth through mergers and acquisitions, Katerra also said it would open six manufacturing plants by March 2019, including a Spokane, Washington, facility that will produce mass timber. The 250,000-square-foot plant is expected to generate 4.6 million cubic feet of cross-laminated timber annually. The five other Katerra plants will manufacture standard wood panels and trusses.
From Construction Dive: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/katerras-new-company-with-indian-manufacturer-kef-already-has-37-billion/526840/
by Web Editor | Mar 21, 2018 | News
Egger Group, a wood-based materials supplier for the furniture, wood construction and flooring industries, broke ground on its North American corporate offices in North Carolina’s Davidson County. The Austrian panel producer says this is a critical step in expanding its U.S. presence to better serve North American customers.
The office building, which is scheduled for completion in early 2019, will house Egger’s North American future office staff. This building also lays the groundwork for future plant operations, which includes an ‘ultramodern’ particleboard manufacturing plant.
Construction of the plant is expected to start at the end of 2018 and production at the future facility is slated to begin in 2020. Sources report the 4.5 million-square-foot production facility will be spread across more than 200 acres in an industrial park. The first stage of the project will involve the construction of a composite panel plant with coating capacities. The company said the North Carolina plant will feature state-of-the-art facilities and will enable it to better serve customers in North America.The company also plans to establish a training center at this location to train and grow skilled workers in the region.
“Today, we celebrate a significant milestone for Egger’s presence in North America,” said Bernhard Vorreiter, technical project manager. “This groundbreaking is an important moment as we work to become a leading resource for wood-based solutions in North America.”
The office building will house approximately 80 workplaces and improve access for architects, designers, wholesalers and furniture industry customers to Egger’s wide range of wood-based products and cutting-edge designs.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/egger-group-breaks-ground-office-building-will-accompany-massive?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Nov 8, 2017 | News
WoodWorks, in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Lab and Softwood Lumber Board, conducted a second series of blast tests on three existing two-story, single-bay cross-laminated timber (CLT) structures at Tyndall Air Force Base—the same structures involved in a series of initial blast tests performed in 2016. While a full analysis will be published early next year, on-site observations are decidedly positive. All structures remained intact under significant explosive loading well beyond their design capacity.
“Last year, we tested the structures under their own self-weight,” said Bill Parsons, VP of Operations for WoodWorks. “Those tests were successful and, this year, we built on that effort by testing whether the design methods established as a result of those initial tests needed to be adjusted when the buildings carried typical gravity loads and included different connection configurations, increased panel thickness, and alternate mass timber wall systems.”
Four tests were performed covering a spectrum of blast loads. For tests one and two, the size of the blast load and configuration of the structures were the same as prior testing, except the structures had axially-loaded front panels. The loads applied were intended to simulate conditions associated with a 5-story residential or office building. For tests three and four, different variables were altered on each of the buildings. One building used 5-ply CLT front wall panels, the second used off-the-shelf prefabricated angle brackets, and the third included nail-laminated timber (NLT) front panels. Reflected pressure, peak deflections, and panel acceleration were recorded at front and side faces in order to compare results to previous testing.
As with the tests performed in 2016, peak recorded deflections were consistent with pre-test predictions indicating the effectiveness of design assumptions and methodology in predicting elastic response of CLT to dynamic loads. The second test also indicated a controlled response in which localized panel rupture was observed but connection integrity and load carrying ability were not compromised for any of the loaded structures. Of particular note, all three structures remained standing following the fourth and largest blast, intended to take the structures well beyond their design intent. While panel rupture was expected and observed on all front and side wall panels, the buildings maintained enough residual capacity to remain intact and safe to enter.
From The Construction Specifier: https://www.constructionspecifier.com/woodworks-leads-successful-blast-testing-loaded-mass-timber-structures/
by Web Editor | Aug 4, 2017 | News
If Yugon Kim realizes his dream, the new office building or housing complex going up in your city may be made out of large hardwood panels called cross laminated timber (CLT). The technology behind CLT has been used for decades in Europe, and it is just beginning to take root in the United States with softwood CLT leading the way. Kim’s Boston-based, architectural design firm IKD just won a $250,000 grant from the Forest Service for designing, developing and constructing the first hardwood CLT demonstration project in the United States.
The aim is to take low-value hardwoods and turn them into a high-value CLT construction project as a proof of concept. Kim explained, “Over 50% of every hardwood log in the region goes to low-value materials like pallets and cants. Our idea is to utilize this material and to upcycle it.”
Kim along with his design partner Tomomi Itakura have created an outdoor CLT construction project that is titled the Conversation Plinth and will be integrated as circular discs that provide a platform for viewing a sculpture at the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library.
Kim suggested, “The ultimate goal is to construct buildings in the United States using hardwood CLT. Our research hopes to lead toward hardwood mass timbers being used for U.S construction projects.”
The Conversation Plinth was designed for Exhibit Columbus, the annual celebration of architecture, art, design and community in Columbus, Indiana. IKD’s design was selected to win an inaugural J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize as part of a national competition.
From Pallet Enterprise: https://palletenterprise.com/view_article/4927/Hardwood-CLT
by Web Editor | Mar 4, 2015 | News
Last November, the Hines development company unveiled plans for a new office building in the North Loop section of Minneapolis. Seems like ordinary news, except that the building would be the first of its kind in the U.S to be made primarily of wood. The builders refer to the project as “T3” for “Timber, Technology and Transit.”
“This building is very unique,” the lead architect, Michael Green, told the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission earlier this month. “It is the first large-scale office building built of timber in America. It is part of a revitalization of century-old ideas of how to build buildings.”
At the federal level, the U.S. is encouraging the use of sustainable wood products in building. The MinnPost reports that Green says that wood grown sustainably has a smaller carbon footprint than concrete and steel. If this seven-story building were to go forward, it would include a foundation and a first floor made of concrete and steel and six stories of mass timber construction.
As Next City columnist Alexis Stephens reported in “Can Taller Buildings Make Toronto More Affordable?,” the province of Ontario recently relaxed height restrictions on wood-frame construction to encourage residential density.
In Minneapolis, the MinnPost notes, the city has been flexible. Dan Callahan, supervisor of the city of Minneapolis’ plan review section, said he has had several meetings with the T3 team to talk through building code issues. The building would fit under code sections for heavy timber buildings. Callahan said he expects further meetings to get more information and to present the design team with other issues the city has before a formal permit application is received.
From NextCity.org: https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/minneapolis-office-building-wood-plans
