This is the final article in a three-part series on Star Building Materials’ Calgary expansion and its effects on new home construction in southern Alberta. Earlier stories covered the facility’s sustainability aspects (June) and employee-focused design (July).

Calgary, AB – With its recent 153,000 sq. ft. expansion, Star Building Materials Calgary is leveraging innovation to help the home building industry construct homes faster and more efficiently in the Calgary market.

Consisting of four modern buildings and a lumber yard on a sprawling 31-acre campus, Star’s manufacturing, logistics, warehouse and head office space marries cutting-edge automated saw technology with computerized design to allow for more efficient and accurate projects.

Ken Crockett, Vice-President, Star Building Materials Calgary, says the goal is help build new single-family homes faster and more cost effectively.

“We want to tackle some of the challenges in our industry by taking care of the things we can control — which is to meet our customer’s construction timelines and reduce costs wherever possible,” said Ken.

Turning up the volume

Employees at Star’s new facility use sophisticated technology to cut, assemble, and manufacture homebuilding products, delivering them via its fleet of trucks directly to construction sites around the city for on-time assembly.

The new manufacturing facility features dedicated spaces for building trusses, engineered wood products, prefabricated wall panels, and interior finishes. This integrated approach brings all five of Star’s core operations together in one location, enhancing collaboration and streamlining production processes.

“Our customers are amazed by the size of our operation and the first in Canada equipment we are using,” said Lorrie Wood, Director of Business Development at Star Building Materials Calgary.

“We’re able to deliver significantly higher volumes with higher accuracy compared to our previous location, and that is exciting for us and great news for the Calgary single-family housing market.”

Material solutions for every type of build

The new manufacturing facility is built to house advanced machinery like the SawTek Boise Cascade® Precision Cut saw, MiTek Ranger RS® material handling system, and the EasyFrame Automated Marking system. Together, the high-end automated technologies allow Star to enhance accuracy, reduce waste and rapidly scale up production.

The facility also includes a new logistics hub and an expanded delivery fleet of 35 vehicles to deliver components around the Calgary area. Each week, over 3.2 million pounds of 2×4’s are delivered and processed – enough to cover more than six football fields if laid side-by-side and end-to-end.

Because customers use different construction styles, Star provides tailored solutions and timely products to match each builder’s unique requirements.

Some higher-volume builders in Calgary choose advanced prefabricated wall panels from Star, although these require specialized equipment to install. In contrast, lower-volume builders often rely on traditional stick framing, and Star supplies products for those needs as well.

A third up-and-coming solution to faster home builds is what Star calls the Quality Wall Installation Kit Frame (QWIKFrame) which allows for easier assembly on site.

Ken says that Star is currently testing its QWIKFrame process on some of its recent Qualico company builds, and the results show promise for Calgary’s new housing market.

“With QWIKFrame, we’re sending lumber out to the site, and it’s all pre-cut, pre-marked, pre-packaged, and the framer just needs to lay it out and nail it together. So, we’re creating an opportunity for builders that don’t have the scale to move all the way over to pre-fabrication. Our QWIKFrame system offers a chance to move beyond stick framing, and for all intents and purposes, the process will be faster, with less waste, and better quality”.

The Qualico Advantage

Ken points out that Star’s close connection to the homebuilding realm, as part of the Qualico group of companies, gives it a unique understanding of the challenges builders face and positions it to lead change within the industry.

“We know the challenges that come with trying to build houses faster, with less waste, as inexpensively as possible. We live it because we’re inside the vertical,” said Ken.

“Not only do we stand in our customers shoes, but we also live in the same world they do. We understand where the pain points are, and through innovation, we aim to be part of the solution”.