Edmonton, AB – Star Building Materials’ highly anticipated expansion hit a huge milestone with the acquisition of the new site’s land in June. With operations set for this fall, the business unit’s new product offerings
will include the supply of building materials and the delivery of industry-leading joist packages.

Additionally, introducing fully autonomous technology will drastically reduce on-site errors, cut down waste, and drive significant cost savings. It will also make Star Building Materials the only Edmonton company able to deliver every joist package
as precision end trimmed (PET) to sites. A new warehouse management system will also improve pick accuracy and inventory integrity.

Ken Crockett, Vice-President, Star Building Materials Calgary, noted the importance of the expansion, which is projected to result in a substantial revenue increase in the first year alone.

“Star Building Materials’ latest expansion signifies not only the broadening of our products’ horizons, but also the elevation of our operational excellence,” said Ken. “This bold move is expected to skyrocket our truss
plant production by a phenomenal 50%, setting a new benchmark for the industry.”

The SawTek PET joist packages and the saw itself will be the first of their kind in Edmonton. PET joist packages are ink jet labelled and cut to exact lengths, which significantly decreases site and supplier waste. In fact, SawTek PET technology reduces
material waste at 5,000 lineal ft./month (which equates to the height of 10 Epcor towers/month).

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The use of PET technology also saves time for framers, and results in greater accuracy and fewer field purchase orders from missing or misused joists. In Calgary, where the team has already introduced SawTek, there has been over 90% reduction of field
POs from site installation errors.

MatchPoint DirectDrive, the truss plant technological innovation, will feature fully autonomous cutting, picking and delivery to a workstation, where automated jigs and lasers will aid builders in improved quality and speed of assembly. This technology
is the first of its kind in Canada.

The warehouse management system (WMS) is software that streamlines every part of warehouse management – from receiving and storage to picking, packing, shipping, inventory tracking, and all the steps in between. The team can use scan guns to locate
and adjust inventory in real-time and there are no delays in processing paperwork. The system is expected to save approximately $100,000/year in inventory.

David Klassen, Director, Manufacturing, Star Building Materials Calgary, said the team is grateful to Qualico for re-investing in the business to help it remain an industry leader through innovation.

“This automated lumber processing system will allow our staff to focus on building trusses, rather than handling material,” said David. “Adding lumber supply in Edmonton will take us back to Qualico’s roots of supporting the homebuilder’s
supply of their primary building blocks. What has changed in the last 60 years is the technology used to accurately inventory and select material for jobsite packages.”

By recognizing this opportunity to help customers reduce build cycle times and expanding product offerings by introducing the supply of building materials, Star Building Materials Edmonton is on track to better serve its customers, now and into the future.