One of the largest suppliers to Maine builders of prefabricated roof, wall and floor panels has just opened its first factory in the U.S., in Lewiston.
Atlas Structural Systems, which has 11 production facilities in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada, and has been supplying contractors in Maine through Hammond Lumber.
Now, Atlas’ parent company, J.D. Irving Ltd., has opened its first facility here. Production started in April.
In occupies 44,000 square feet at 1750 Lisbon St., formerly the Steel Service Center.
Mike Vail, director of sales, said the site will design and manufacture engineered trusses and prefabricated wall, floor and stair panels.
He expects to employ close to 45 people.
Atlas chose Lewiston for its central location.
“Lewiston is a great community with a historically industrial hub that offers good opportunities for businesses with a skilled labor force,” he told Mainebiz, adding that Atlas U.S. will source the majority of its lumber from stateside mills.
A number of Maine contractors use Atlas components, including Freeport-based Zachau Construction Inc. and Hebert Construction, which is based in Lewiston.
“Having a world-class manufacturer invest in our community is meaningful on multiple levels — it creates quality jobs and economic opportunity locally. It gives Maine contractors like us a reliable, nearby source for panelized systems and prefabricated components,” Simon Hebert, COO of Hebert Construction, told Mainebiz. “That kind of regional supply capacity helps keep construction costs competitive and lead times predictable, which matters a great deal in an active market like ours.”
Hebert Construction used Atlas’s floor, wall and stair package assemblies in a four-story apartment building in Avesta Housing’s second building in the Maple Grove Complex in Westbrook. The contractor is slated to use the same system on the Orren, an 80-unit condominium project in Biddeford which Hebert is building for Fathom Cos.
Prefab panels save time and labor. With a multifamily project where an investor is carrying the costs and has a set amount of time to lease the property, “shaving three to six weeks off a schedule has very real dollar value,” Hebert said.
Zach Whishman, Hebert project manager for the recently built Seavey Crossing apartment complex in Westbrook, told Mainebiz, “Traditional wall panels are eight to nine feet; Atlas has the ability to provide panels over 20 feet long. Longer panels mean fewer walls needing to be set, speeding up construction.”
