< PreviousWRITTEN BY AOIFE CHANEY T o do business in a way that is efficient, durable, and lucrative, is to respond to market trends and offer solutions to socioeconomic and industry chal- lenges. That is, to provide a service that is useful to the market in which you operate. In Ontario, a growing market trend is to build up instead of out. One of the socioeconomic challenges is a lack of affordable housing and an increased demand for rental properties. And a major industry chal- lenge is the post-pandemic labor shortage which contin- ues to have a critical impact on construction practices. The answer? A company like Magest Building Systems Ltd, who specializes in delivering multi-story buildings using a system that is less labor intensive than traditional methods. Today, Magest specializes in the design, manu- facturing, and assembly of cold formed steel (CFS) stud wall panels, floor joists and trusses as a complete panel- ized building system for framing multi-story buildings. It’s portfolio spans across Ontario and beyond, and includes Condominiums, Apartment Buildings, Hotels, Retirement Homes, and Student Residences. | 20 JUNE 2024| 21 APEIRON CONSTRUCTIONMagest Group Limited was founded in 1990 as a general contracting company, which specialized in the supply and erection of pre-engineered steel building structures. “Our pre-engineered steel buildings contained a large quantity of cold-formed steel girts and purlins required to frame out the walls & roof,” says Craig Wood, Business Development Man- ager. “After erecting pre-engineered buildings for quite a few years, we decided to get into the cold form steel market in 2005. That's when we decided to look into the design, supply and erection of load bearing steel stud wall panels, which would primarily compete with masonry block, poured con- crete, and slower, more conventional construction materials. Supply and installing load bearing steel stud wall panels is very fast and efficient compared to conventional methods of construction which are very slow and more labor intensive.” After a few years of working with cold-form steel, Magest found it’s flow and began to expand its offerings. “Magest decided to take responsibility for the structural steel supply and install as well as the floor and roof systems, basically completing the entire upper super structure utilizing our CFS system as much as possible. This method helps to alleviate the general contractors, taking some responsibility off of them with Magest coordinating the superstructure install.” One of the biggest milestones in Magest’s trajectory towards future success was the purchase of a roll former in 2010. “The roll former allowed us to manufacture our own steel studs and track material and fabricate our own cold form steel components, giving us more control over both the cost and fabrication of the wall panels. Our roll former produces stud & track material ranging from 12ga to 26ga studs with 2.5” wide to 14” wide webs. All cold form steel material is produced and fabricated in our mostly automated 95,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Stratford.” Step by step, Magest evolved from a General Contracting company to more of a one-stop-shop when it comes to cold- form steel, taking on more of the structural design in-house. “When clients come to Magest with a conceptual floor plan, we can help them to design and value engineer their building using our system while keeping cost in mind. Engineering wise, we've really jumped into the design of cold form steel. We can provide a complete upper structure design for our clients if they don’t yet have a structural engineer on board. We provide a preliminary structural layout for our clients with a budget price. If that budget price meets their overall project budget, they'll engage Magest to do the structural design, produce permit drawings, and eventually issue for construc- tion drawings.” The market quickly caught on to the benefits of Magest’s sys- tem, and with this came a larger volume of projects. “We've increased the size of our manufacturing facility throughout the years because of the increased demand for fabrication and manufacturing space,” says Craig. “We have seen an increased volume of work year after year as more and more projects are designed in cold-form steel than when we started in 2005. It was difficult in the beginning to persuade architects and engineers to design their projects using load bearing steel stud walls. But now, so many projects are com- ing out designed in our CFS system, which is great to see. We're doing something right.” The architects and engineers who once had to be persuaded to design using cold-form steel are now demanding it, and as a result, Magest has experienced consistent growth year after year. “Now, so many projects are com- ing out designed in our CFS sys- tem, which is great to see.” | 22 JUNE 2024AUTOFEED SCREW SYSTEMS 30 % INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY ONE HAND OPERATION NO DROPPED SCREWS CORNER-FIT FEED SYSTEM ADJUSTABLE DEPTH OF DRIVE Precise screw placement and accessinto tight corners Consistent flush or countersinkdrives Securework material withfree hand Screwsremainreadyto drive in flexiblecollatedstripdriving individual loose screws Profast Limited is a proud supplier of SENCO products and has been serving the construction and manufacturing industry with a variety of fasteners for all construction applications since 1974 LEARN MORE ABOUT DURASPINIn post-pandemic North America, construction companies have been scratching their heads in search of an answer to the labor shortage that continues to sweep the industry. The old way simply does not work anymore and systems built on efficiency and innovation are carving the way forward. Luckily, Magest was in the game of efficiency and innovation long before the pandemic, and as such can offer a proven, less labor-intensive system that tackles this industry challenge. “With the speed of installation using our cfs system and the skilled trades that we are bringing to site to erect our buildings, there’s less construction labor needed. We try to prefabricate as much of the building as possible, off site. It definitely speeds up the design, erection, and install time, which helps to reduce the overall project schedule. Clients can see how fast It’s What Makes Agway Easier To Do Business With For over 40 years, Agway has provided diverse steel solutions for residential, agricultural, industrial, commercial, and institu- tional markets. Our expertise ensures that each solution meets or exceeds the specific demands and expectations of the customer. From cladding, roofing, and decking to specialized accessories and custom-formed shapes, our products and services are backed by industry leadership and responsive support to ensure that each and every customer finds Agway Easier To Do Business With. At Agway we demand the highest standards of integrity and ethical behaviour in everything we do – from ourselves and from all colleagues and team mem- bers. These shared beliefs and values are the foundation upon which we continue to build longstanding relationships of trust and partnership among our customers, who are the lifeblood of our success. agwaymetals.com our buildings go up, especially if we're building a six or eight story building across the street from a conventional poured concrete structure. Our buildings are erected in half the time”. Arguably even more important than delivering construction projects within a given program, is delivering them within bud- get. Magest uses a straight-up approach by which the budget is prioritized from the outset and maintained throughout the process, instead of skirted over and increased as the project progresses. “Being able to maintain the client’s budget along the way is the one of the most important things. The worst thing that we could do is suddenly increase the price at the very end. We don't do that. If we did, we would never get a call back from that client, and we take a lot of pride in our list of repeat clients. We have so many clients that come to us knowing right from day one that they want to use Magest for their next building. They know what works, and we try hard to keep the cost in check for them.” Varga Condos - Mattamy Homes Milton, ON Nova Retirement Residence Niagara Falls, ONAs Craig talks me through some of Magest’s projects, the company’s pride in repeat business is evident. First up, the Soleil Condominium development for Mattamy Homes. “Mattamy is a big constructor in the GTA. Approximately three years ago we started the construction of four six-story buildings for Mattamy in Milton.” For these buildings Magest supplied cold formed steel wall panels, as well as structural steel. “The nice part about the Soleil Condos is that all four buildings are on the same site.” This opened up a pipeline of new projects for Mattamy Homes who continue to be one of Magest’s many repeat customers. “We’ve also completed ten 4-story apartment buildings for Hyde Construction, who operate throughout Ontario. Each building is 64,800 sq. ft, or 16,200 per level. Magest erected each above grade structure in 8 weeks” Another repeat cus- tomer, Magest now do one to two projects a year for Hyde Construction. “Magest’s construction background has greatly contributed to our success over the years. Knowing how to construct a building on site is just as important as precisely manufac- turing the components that go into the building. We under- stand the details & how the building needs to come together alongside other trades and on schedule. We pride ourselves on the quality of our work and the number of repeat clients that we have.” As the demand for high-quality retirement services grows throughout North America, Magest has tapped into that market and has completed retirement homes both in Ontario and out of province. “We erected the Rivera Retirement Home in Edmonton, Alberta,” Craig says, speaking of the 4-story 130,000 square foot building in Edmonton that was erected in sixteen weeks. “We have also completed projects in Hal- ifax, North Bay, Sudbury, Niagara Falls and Sarnia. We kind of go all over the place.” Magest’s footprint extends out of country too, with projects in the United States forming part of its portfolio. “We completed a seven-story Harrah’s Hotel and Casino in Murphy, North Carolina, approximately ten years ago.” This project had a floor area of over 160,000 square feet and was erected in just fourteen weeks. Magest’s plan for the future is to continue to respond to market trends while offering innovative building solutions through a system that is proven, efficient, and in demand. With this comes compa- ny-wide expansion that will allow Magest to take on a larger volume of projects. “This summer we will be adding a 45,000 square foot plant addition, which will give us more fabrica- tion space. We are also looking into expanding what Magest offers as far as building materials, and that's part of what the expansion will be used for.” Of the industry as a whole and Magest’s place within it, Craig sees big opportunity in the increased demand for mid-rise, multi-story residential developments. “I find that multi-story residential is going to grow in smaller communities where they don't want to expand out with single family homes and encroach on farmland. Smaller communities are now allowing developers to build vertically, to build up as opposed to out. Building 4 Story, 6 Story, 8 Story buildings is exactly what we focus on. I only see our workflow increasing.” With a high-quality system that champions innovation while staying within budget and on program, Magest is all set for a long future in an industry which values those things above all else. Soleil Condos - Mattamy Homes Milton, ON | 25 APEIRON CONSTRUCTIONWRITTEN BY DAVID O’NEILL A cross the modern industrial landscape, one factor remains constant. Despite the unrelenting challenges that are seen in areas such as workforce, supply and red tape, no industry can operate without a source of power. This power, however, comes at a cost. Financial con- siderations, sustainability, and environmental impact are all vital and necessary metrics for the development and use of power sources. Unfortunately though, this triad of consider- ations rarely balances equally. The most sustainable power sources, the environmentally neutral ones, tend to come at the greatest financial cost. Despite the understanding of a global community around the importance of careful environ- mental stewardship, in business, the bottom line can be what matters most. Paul Breeze, an environmental and science journalist and consultant, believes that the power industry is inextricably linked to all other elements of human development. This link, he says, has developed and changed over time. “The power industry has a major impact on the global environment, and awareness of this has grown steadily since the middle of the 20th century. Since then the effects of acid rain, of nuclear | 26 JUNE 2024accidents and more recently of global carbon dioxide emis- sions on the environment have prompted major changes within the industry.” According to Breeze, civilization is too much invested on its current path to deviate now, meaning we need to find alternative solutions within the context we find ourselves. “Although the industry can adapt to mitigate these effects, power generation is such a large operation that will always have an impact on environmental conditions. This is inevitable if the world is to have electricity and it is impos- sible to imagine the global population deciding to do without the advances it has made possible.” | 27 APEIRON CONSTRUCTIONIt is not just the generation of power that is proving to be a challenge, however. Solar, wind, and waves can all produce vast amounts of power and are capable of maintaining the global community’s needs. The unfortunate reality however, is that much of this energy is wasted because it cannot be used quickly enough. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States alone will need to add hundreds of gigawatts of energy storage by 2050 to meet its clean energy goals. In fact, the race is on to ramp up storage capabilities if it is to achieve its targets. “U.S. energy storage capacity will need to scale rapidly over the next two decades to achieve the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of achieving a net-zero economy by 2050. DOE’s recently published Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Liftoff Report found that the U.S. grid may need between 225 and 460 gigawatts of LDES by 2050, requiring $330 billion in capital on the same timeline. These figures are in addition to the nation’s utility scale short duration storage needs, which will be about 160 gigawatts by 2050, according to the reference case from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2023 Annual Energy Outlook.” Clearly, storage of this power is a problem. Saving energy for a time when it is required, that is what will make or break the drive for Net-Zero. But, how is that a problem, you may ask. The battery has been a staple of human life for over two centuries. It is not as simple as that, though. The batteries we produce and consume are developed with one thing in mind; size. From phones to EVs, computers to appliances, small batteries are the key to success. They bring portability, efficiency and ease of use to a sector that prides itself on its reliability. When it comes to storing naturally produced energy, the batteries we currently have are not fit for purpose. The challenges don’t stop there either. If large scale batteries were to be produced, their location, management and upkeep would be a hugely significant consideration. So, is there an alternative? What would happen, for instance, if we looked to other sources of power storage? Large scale natural objects that could charge, generate and store power. What we might lose in portability, we may gain massively in efficiency and power. According to some exciting devel- opments across the energy sector, large scale batteries that use the world around us as storage could just be the key to unlocking the cyclical nature of solar and wind farms. Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage is a relatively new technology that works by storing excess energy as compressed air in underground caverns. This air can be returned to power turbines in periods of low sunlight or wind. Effectively making it an underground energy storage system. Canadian company Hydrostor is working to develop the world’s A-CAES system in Kern County, California. “Our pat- ented A-CAES technology allows grid operators to draw on clean energy, even when there is no sun to fuel solar panels and no wind to generate energy from turbines.” The project will see two football field sized caverns excavated 2000 feet under the earth. Using surplus renewable energy to run air “Saving energy for a time when it is required, that is what will make or break the drive for Net-Zero.” | 28 JUNE 2024compressors that heat and squeeze air to a smaller volume, the system works by releasing the air when needed to spin electricity generating turbines. In essence, these holes under- ground become natural batteries. According to the company, there are enormous benefits to a technology it describes as being “the missing piece of the puzzle.” It is a low-cost option that can be built either as a stand-alone project or at a large scale. Not only that, it has an operational lifespan of over fifty years. It is an emission free concept which uses no fossil fuels and is a proven technology is the development and storage of sustainable energy. For Hydrostor, the Kern County project is a huge turning point. The project is expected to deliver around 500 megawatts of power per hour for eight hours before the system needs to “recharge.” While this technology is both proven and achievable, it has not yet been adopted on a wide-scale. Concerns remain about the environmental effect of digging vast caverns underground while some environmental groups are eager to analyse the effects on above-ground eco systems. Despite this, A-CAES is gathering speed and the landmark project in California could be a turning point for the energy sector. | 29 APEIRON CONSTRUCTIONNext >