SUBMITTED PHOTO Each module is a fully finished apartment or hotel room and ensuite. On site the only requirements are plumbing and electrical connections.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
About five years ago a Bow Island company had laid off 60 employees due to the downturn in the oil and gas industry, but now it’s thriving and exporting its product to the U.S.
The modular homes for oil and gas workers that Tru-co Modular used to build have been transformed into modular units for apartments and top notch hotels.
“With the way that the economy has gone in the last few years we’ve really had to refocus our efforts to try and re-pivot the business into something different,” said Rhys Kane, vice president business development Tru-co Modular.
After doing some affordable housing projects in B.C., Tru-co has turned its attention to projects south of the border, said Kane. The current exchange rate has made this particularly favourable.
“We are building our first project in Los Angeles and we are also going to be building our first project in Denver Colorado pretty soon – an apartment building,” said Kane. “We are doing three or four-storey apartment buildings.”
Kane describes the modules that are built in the Bow Island factory, with a staff now of about 100, as being like building with Lego. The modules are then trucked to the building site where a crane lifts them into place. In Los Angeles there are 20 units in a three-storey building.
“We’re also doing an 85-room hotel in Reno, Nevada,” said Kane, noting it’s for the Hilton hotel chain.
“Even with trucking them down there and installing them, it’s still a more cost effective solution for the developers.”
Putting the modules together can take just a few days, said Kane.
It’s also about the quality of the product, he explained. Building outside in the elements is difficult. Tru-co builds in a controlled environment to a much higher quality finish with efficient, dedicated and skilled staff.
Kane says the cost of construction in California is currently high because of the demand in the industry. It can be difficult to find quality trades and projects are taking longer to complete.
There have been some hurdles. To supply California a certification process for the Bow Island plant was required. This included third-party certification, an agency coming to the factory for an inspection, plus approval of the quality control manual.
Each module is a fully finished apartment complete with kitchen, bathroom, flooring and is painted. On site the only requirements are plumbing and electrical connections, said Kane.
A hotel room and ensuite module is built in the factory complete with all the furniture, bedding and even the toilet roll holder on the wall. A representative inspects each unit and then they are loaded for transport.
Even with transport costs it is still viable, said Kane. Each semi-truck takes a module comprising two hotel rooms. That the Bow Island factory is reasonably close to the U.S. border is a bonus.
Kane says even if you build on site there are transport costs for each item needed plus the finishing touches such as fittings and furniture.
Building the modules means the purchaser is getting the finish and quality they’re looking for, said Kane.
“The way the industry is going, more and more buildings are now being completed in this fashion and you’ll see the construction industry starting to really take this on,” said Kane.
The concept is widely used in Europe and is gaining more momentum here because it makes a lot of sense, he said.
Canada can pose some climate challenges for traditional onsite construction. Building in remote locations can mean huge distances to send crews who are then away from family while working, said Kane. Most Tru-co employees live in Bow Island with some commuting from Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
Kane is optimistic about the future.
“We had the Marriott hotel chain come through our factory in Bow Island last week,” said Kane, noting they want consistency and better quality. “They’re fed up with traditional construction taking too long and not meeting standards.”
Locally Tru-co has a reputation for being strongly community minded. A percentage of company profits goes into its own charity – Interaction. Often the people helped are local families with a specific need, said Kane.
