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Dive brief:
- Mercer Mass Timber, based in Vancouver, British Columbia has launched a construction services divisionthe company announced on March 4.
- The wood building materials maker, which is a subsidiary of wood pulp producer Mercer International, will offer on-site installation and consulting services to customers seeking guidance and strategic support, according to the statement.
- Brian Merwin, senior vice president of Mercer Mass Timber, told Construction Dive that the company doesn’t see itself competing with other installers. Rather, Merwin said the new division would work with customers who are building with solid wood for the first or second time.
Diving knowledge:
Merwin said the new division would provide a “turnkey” solution for its clients and represent a new offering for customers. Nor does it represent a shift in strategy for the company towards construction and installation.
“Our core business is still supplying solid wood materials for installation,” Merwin said.
Services the new division can provide include engineering, structural modeling, project and labor management, programming and quality control, according to the release.
The approach, according to the statement, would be vertically integrated. Because Mercer would run the process from top to bottom, it would lead to reduced waste, streamlined schedules and lower risk, according to the release.
Mercer’s decision to establish this new division coincides with the growing popularity of solid wood as a building material, particularly as demand for green buildings grows up.
Among the high-profile customers who have tested the solid wood is Amazon, which used the material $2.5 billion second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Other notable projects include the Limberlost Place $150 million in Toronto and the New $32 million headquarters of Cincinnati Public Radio in Cincinnati, which opened in August.
