Element5, a manufacturer of mass timber products based in St. Thomas, has wrapped up a $107-million expansion of its production facility, which will double its output and create 150 new jobs.
Announced on September 17, the initiative involves setting up a cutting-edge glue-laminated timber (glulam) production line; constructing a new 57,000-square-foot building for lumber sorting; and adding an 18,000-square-foot office space spread over two floors that features cross-laminated timber (CLT) produced by the company.
This expansion increases the facility’s total area to over 350,000 square feet and boosts its capacity to produce 100,000 cubic metres of CLT and glulam products each year.
The growth will also lead to an increase in staffing levels, bringing the total number of employees to 325 with the addition of those 150 new roles.
The Ontario government contributed $8 million from the Invest Ontario Fund for this project. This adds to the $3.46 million that was provided by the province in 2024.
Support also comes from its parent company, Hasslacher group located in Austria.
“This expansion represents a bold step forward for Element5, our partners, and the mass timber industry in Canada,” Chris Latour, president of Element5, said in a news release.
“We are proud to provide innovative, sustainable building solutions that help address Canada’s urgent need for affordable, climate-friendly housing and infrastructure. With our expanded operations, we are even better positioned to support communities across Ontario and North America.”
Both glulam and CLT are engineered wood products made from layers of lumber glued together with adhesive to create strong construction materials. Glulam is typically used for large beams and s while CLT is utilized for floors, roofs and walls.
The company noted that this expansion is a significant achievement since it started back in 2020 with just 15 employees.
At that time, while still operating out of Ripon, Que., Element5 teamed up with White River Forest Products to establish a reliable supply chain to support their factory operations.
Apart from manufacturing glulam and CLT products, Element5 designs, fabricates, and assembles mass timber buildings. They have successfully completed more than 300 projects so far including luxury condos and arts centres as well as offices and firehalls alongside various Indigenous community initiatives.
The firm has also finished work on ten affordable housing projects with another ten either under construction or being developed currently.
The province mentioned that Element5’s expansion will not only strengthen the local supply chain for forestry products but will also cater to increasing demand for sustainable building materials along with modular homes.
This aligns perfectly with its recently introduced Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan aimed at encouraging greater use of wood in construction projects throughout Ontario.
“Ontario’s forestry and wood manufacturing sectors support tens of thousands of jobs across the province,” Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation, and trade said in the release.
“As our government delivers on our plan to protect Ontario , Element5’s expansion will create over 100 new jobs and bolster the province’s wood manufacturing supply chain , increasing the forestry sector’s competitiveness and unlocking new opportunities for workers , builders , and homeowners.”
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