Calgary-headquartered ATCO Structures’ newly completed expansion of its Grimsby, Ont. manufacturing facility will consolidate its position as Canada's largest modular construction provider and help it keep up with the growing demand for projects.

The facility is the newest of ATCO’s five manufacturing plants across Canada and will deliver turnkey modular products for housing, schools, healthcare, community infrastructure, workforce accommodations and major industrial, mining, energy and defence projects. 

“We are very varied in what we offer and see ourselves as a solutions provider to anybody who has a need for a type of shelter,” executive vice-president of modular for Canada Benoit Gagne told RENX.

By shifting much of the construction process into a controlled manufacturing environment, modular construction can significantly reduce project timelines, improve quality and increase predictability while helping overcome labour and supply chain constraints.

Gagne said the process continues to evolve as it introduces new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to improve efficiency in all areas.

New Grimsby facility

ATCO has improved its Grimsby manufacturing operations by consolidating them from several small buildings into a new 110,000-square-foot facility and an additional 75,000 square feet dedicated to warehousing and welding activities.

The Grimsby expansion enables ATCO to be fully vertically integrated for customers in the eastern half of Canada, which it wasn’t before.

“This was a natural progression for where we wanted to grow the business in service of what we see today as being challenges around housing and other needs,” said Gagne.

The Grimsby facility is supported by five existing Ontario sales branches and employs more than 140 people, roughly three-quarters of the company's 190-person Ontario workforce, with more jobs expected as production grows. 

“A lot of sub-contractors that we work with will also benefit, including those involved with trucking, material supply, different trades that we rely on, and contractors that work to install some of our product in the field,” said Gagne. 

“So even though we're about 200 strong, the impact that we have over the people that we rely on to deliver our projects expands exponentially beyond that.”

ATCO still oversees assembly and installation for projects where customers want to utilize their own labour force to build them in order to ensure quality and consistency.

ATCO projects

While ATCO’s yellow-banded units are a recognizable and essential part of construction sites and infrastructure projects, and are available to rent or buy from 15 retail locations across Canada, the company is active in a variety of other areas as well. 

Some of the company’s completed Ontario projects have included: 

• Fred Victor Dunn House, a four-storey building with 51 rent-geared-to-income and supportive housing units at 90 Dunn Ave. in Toronto;
• the expansion of McKee Public School for the Toronto District School Board;
• 200 classrooms in different locations;
• a three-storey steel and concrete non-combustible office building for Aecon for the ongoing refurbishment of Ontario Power Generation’s Pickering nuclear facility;
• and construction and site facilities for the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit.

ATCO’s currently involved with:

• the construction of a 1,000-person workforce accommodation lodge that was built in Canada and shipped to Idaho;
• a supportive housing project in North York, Ont.;
• and a six-storey, 190-unit affordable housing project in downtown Calgary.

Future growth opportunities

“We're very excited with what's on the horizon in terms of all the fanfare around the large mega-projects that are under review,” said Gagne. 

“We see our product and what we can deliver in terms of our manufactured buildings as being very much in demand, whether it's for a mine, an infrastructure project, oil and gas, housing or defence. We’re very excited about what that could bring for us and what we can, in turn, deliver to Canadians.”

Housing has become an increasingly important part of ATCO’s business as governments seek faster and more efficient ways to build it. One of its Alberta factories is dedicated exclusively to the sector and can produce three houses per day.

ATCO acquired Lethbridge, Alta.-based Triple M Housing in 2023 and its homes are sold across the prairie provinces and the Northwest Territories. It offers the industry’s first and only 20-year warranty for its wide range of homes.

Through using green initiatives — such as the Built Green program, ENERGY STAR participation and in-house recycling strategies — Triple M has been able to reduce the expected waste of home construction by more than 60 per cent.

“For our large-format workforce accommodation facilities, we also look after the hospitality services, including food preparation, catering, housekeeping, cleaning and guest services for the duration of the project,” Gagne added. 

About ATCO

Founded by 17-year-old R.D. Southern in 1947 as Alberta Trailer Hire, ATCO Ltd. has since grown into a diversified $28-billion enterprise encompassing several subsidiary and affiliate companies (including ATCO Structures) with more than 20,000 employees worldwide that provide integrated solutions in: structures and logistics; electricity; pipelines and liquids; and retail energy.

ATCO Structures has 11 manufacturing facilities and operations in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Chile and Australia. It employs about 2,000 people in Canada.