Building assembly and manufacturing plants is hard work.
But despite a recent withdrawal from consumers and car manufacturers in the electric vehicle space, Detroit-based general contractor Walbridge is confident that the vehicle manufacturing sector will continue to increase overall delay levels going forward.
Electric machinery construction, which includes EV battery plants, accounted for about 47% of total manufacturing construction in 2023, according to the Dodge Construction Network. S&P Global Mobility predicts that by 2030, new vehicle market share will likely increase to 40%, which should translate into more work for general contractors like Walbridge.
Here, Walbridge Executive Vice President Randy Abdallah talks with Construction Dive about vehicle manufacturing, the contractor’s top growth sectors and the industry challenges facing construction.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity
CONSTRUCTION DIVER: What are some recent project wins you can share?
RANDY ABDALLAH: Walbridge’s vehicle manufacturing group is currently working on seven major programs that support the North American market for electrification and alternative propulsion. This ranges from conversions of existing facilities to expansions of existing facilities to electric vehicle battery plants.
Randy Abdullah
Permission granted by Walbridge
We also have several major new wins with hyperscale data center customers in Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Texas.
Why is Walbridge targeting vehicle manufacturing construction as a growth area?
Vehicle manufacturing will continue to represent a significant portion of Walbridge’s annual revenue and growth. Historically, the U.S. vehicle manufacturing industry has supported 13 million or more vehicles per year.
With the current focus on environmentally friendly vehicles, we foresee a combination of internal combustion engine and alternative propulsion vehicles for several years. This will require vehicle manufacturers to invest in capital projects to support multiple vehicle programs simultaneously.
What about EV manufacturing specifically? What’s the feeling there?
The markets we currently serve have experienced exponential growth with the electrification of vehicles. This includes the battery cell and upstream and downstream components, as well as data center growth and mission critical to support AI.
Walbridge has seen significant post-Covid-19 growth as the US looks to shore up domestic manufacturing, much of which was spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act.
How does Walbridge stay ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and innovation?
Walbridge’s commitment to innovation, sustainability and excellence drives our efforts to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing construction landscape. Using a multi-pronged approach, we continuously invest in and evaluate new technologies in various areas to see how they will improve productivity and efficiency in the industry.
For example, this includes proximity warning alert systems. This is a blind spot technology that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect humans versus objects.
Also, another example is smart contracts. This includes self-executing digital agreements programmed with “if/then” logic and stored on a blockchain network. When a predetermined condition is met, the terms of the contract are automatically executed. It helps streamline processes, increases transparency and reduces reliance on intermediaries.
What are the challenges facing Walbridge in 2024 and how are you addressing them?
We share the same concerns about interest rates and labor availability as other contractors.
While we had stable material prices in 2023, we are starting to see prices pick up again in 2024. Labor availability has been an ongoing issue for several years.
Walbridge will continue to do what has made us successful in the past: ensure the worker has a safe, efficient and temperature-controlled work environment and provide training and competitive compensation among other workplace services.
Any other trends in the construction industry that you think are important to mention?
We are seeing many of our customers move to carbon neutral solutions and announce carbon neutral targets. Walbridge is exploring our role in supporting their goals and how it will impact the construction industry.
