Blair Davies has 30 years of experience growing engineering-based businesses, with a background in ostrategy, marketing, business, and engineering. In addition to now being the chief operating officer at Toronto-based VECTORMINIMA<\/em>, Davies owns the company Fa\u00e7ade Systems, Inc<\/a>. In need of a prefabricated wall system for that enterprise, he went to inventor, entrepreneur, and modular construction expert, Julian Bowron.<\/p>\n \u201cJulian said, \u2018Yes, I have a design for that. But I have something else to show you.\u2019 What I saw was terrific,\u201d says Davies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an incredibly simple design. Elegant engineering, very easy to fabricate.\u201d<\/p>\n The design was for METALOQ. \u201cIt was one of those times when you think, \u2018Wow, I wish I\u2019d invented that. It\u2019s so simple but so genius.\u201d<\/p>\n Davies joined Bowron and became the chief operating officer at VECTORMINIMA<\/em>. The company is rolling out METALOQ, the first of a number of planned inventions. The company describes METALOQ as a modular framing system whereby \u2018kits of parts\u2019 are made by steel fabricators and shipped to modular builders<\/a>.<\/p>\n Crucially, METALOQ doesn\u2019t introduce too much change too quickly. \u201cI\u2019ve been involved in change management and product rollouts over the years,\u201d says Davies.<\/p>\n \u201cMETALOQ allows individual players in the supply chain to do what they already know how to do.\u201d<\/p>\n METALOQ is modelled in SolidWorks, a type of CAD (computer-aided design) that\u2019s used in the aerospace and automobile industries.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m simplifying a sophisticated process here, but the idea is that we give the software model to an architect and they can change any component and everything else adjusts in response,\u201d says Davies.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have to keep re-doing the engineering and re-drawing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Davies says METALOQ offers architects creative freedom \u201cbecause the modules don\u2019t have to be rectangular boxes. They needn\u2019t be stacked directly on top of one another; they can be offset. So you can create soffits.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can add parts of modules on the back or front. You could have a podium made of concrete and have retail space and a big atrium, with the modules on top in an interesting pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n From the architect\u2019s completed design, the program creates shop drawings and code for CNC machines, which are sent to a steel fabricator<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe steel fabricator does what they\u2019re used to doing: CNC machining, cutting, lasers, drilling, brake forming, roll forming,\u201d explains Davies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they see the design, they don\u2019t notice anything unusual. They need only run-of-the-mill, easily available tools.\u201d<\/p>\n The steel fabricator creates the parts (or may choose to contract out some steps) and then that \u2018kit\u2019 is shipped to a modular builder\u2019s factory. \u201cWe joked that we should ship an Allen wrench with it because it\u2019s so easy to put together.\u201d<\/p>\n All the modular builder<\/a> needs are a flat floor and three or four people to put the frame together with ordinary hand tools. \u201cAnd every frame will be perfect, and identical to every other one.\u201d<\/p>\n The perfection of the product \u2014 as well as the simple design and ease of assembly \u2014 is important to VECTORMINIMA<\/em>. The METALOQ product tagline is Simply Precise.<\/p>\n \u201cJulian is very good at knowing where there can be tolerances and the process doesn\u2019t have to result in perfection to the millimetre \u2014 and also where zero tolerance is necessary, resulting in perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n Identical frames make it easier to install drywall, floors, plumbing, and so on. \u201cOn a construction site, you need skilled craftspeople who can adjust to the conditions in the field and, for example, make drywall fit, despite irregularities in the framing,\u201d explains Davies.<\/p>\n In contrast, if irregularities are eliminated, everything fits perfectly and there\u2019s no need for a skilled craftsperson to hang drywall. \u201cYou can use multi-skilled manufacturing workers, like in other manufacturing operations.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior experience contributed to Bowron\u2019s understanding and appreciation of precision. Davies tells a story of when Bowron and his team built executive washrooms for an office building in Calgary, Canada.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThese washrooms had back-painted glass, not drywall. For the glass to fit, the framing for the washrooms had to be perfect. Nobody\u2019s going to be grinding glass if a piece is too big.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t add extra pieces if the glass is too small. That\u2019s the level of precision Julian previously worked to, and he\u2019s rolled that into this invention.\u201d<\/p>\n Frames built using the METALOQ system are much lighter than typical steel frames \u2014 12 to 16 pounds per square foot. \u201cThere are other systems up in the 30s, which means they\u2019re harder to hoist and bigger cranes and trucks are needed to move them.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite their lightness, the frames don\u2019t sacrifice strength. \u201cThese frames combine roll-formed, light gauge steel<\/a> with heavier duty brake-formed steel where it\u2019s needed for extra strength,\u201d explains Davies. \u201cThere\u2019s no need to use heavier steel where it\u2019s not necessary for strength.\u201d<\/p>\n Davies also mentions the rigidity of the frames. \u201cJulian invented a way to join the floor joist and rim joist that doesn\u2019t involve welding or a lot of fasteners. It\u2019s a simple design that creates a very rigid connection.\u201d<\/p>\n Davies says that METALOQ creates various business possibilities. \u201cFor example, one of our clients wants to vertically integrate.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants to build a modular factory, develop social housing, and employ some of the people who live in the social housing.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s contemplating creating a steel fabrication company. He wants to buy his own cranes. He may outsource the civil work and the podium to a GC, or he may vertically integrate that too.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a business model that hasn\u2019t been seen before. There are developers who self-perform, but not to that degree.\u201d<\/p>\n At the other end of the spectrum, Davies says that the steps in the supply chain could be separated and \u201cbecause METALOQ is so easy to use, you could have a very efficient handoff between one player and the next.\u201d<\/p>\n Another possibility is wood modular builders adding steel frame assembly to the front of their fit-out line, thereby expanding their business in non-combustible and taller buildings.<\/p>\n Davies says that METALOQ is being licensed to businesses that will gain the biggest benefit in their area, and he\u2019s currently in discussions with people in New England, Texas, California, the UK, and the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a couple of guys with some good ideas and a vision, enjoying ourselves. I\u2019ve been an entrepreneur for a while so I understand there are risks,\u201d says Davies. \u201cBut I encourage entrepreneurship, because you get used to the lifestyle and it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n He emphasises, though, the important effects that he hopes METALOQ will have. \u201cAlthough we\u2019re talking about bending metal, cutting, and welding, this is really a human thing. METALOQ can have a real impact on the current housing shortage.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Modular Building Institute<\/strong><\/p>\n www.modular.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n Twitter:\u00a0@rethinkmodular<\/a><\/p>\n LinkedIn:\u00a0Modular Building Institute<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This article was first published in the Modular Advantage – <\/em>November\/December 2020 Edition<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Zena Ryder is a freelance writer, specializing in writing about construction. You can find her at\u00a0Zena, Freelance Writer<\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n METALOQ is a modular framing system whereby \u2018kits of parts\u2019 are made by steel fabricators and shipped to modular builders. Find out more here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[942],"tags":[172754,627,696,50224],"stakeholder_rel_tag":[172484],"contributor_rel_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-85314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-mmc-news","7":"tag-light-gauge-steel-framing","8":"tag-modular-construction","9":"tag-offsite-construction","10":"tag-sh-modular-building-institute","11":"stakeholder_rel_tag-modular-building-institute"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDesign<\/h3>\n
Fabrication<\/h3>\n
Perfection<\/h3>\n
Light & sturdy<\/h3>\n
Business opportunities<\/h3>\n
Entrepreneurship and the future<\/h3>\n