How a strategic partnership between Adams Building Supply and NextGen Panels is helping independent dealers respond to a changing construction market.
It’s hard to ignore the impact Canada’s housing challenge is having on the construction industry.
Governments are under pressure to increase housing supply, developers are looking for ways to build more efficiently, and skilled labour shortages continue to challenge traditional construction methods. At the same time, demand is growing for multi-family developments, row housing, stacked towns and mid-rise wood-frame construction.
The industry is changing. And with it, so are the opportunities available to independent building supply dealers. For dealers, staying competitive means more than keeping pace with change. It means recognizing where the industry is headed and finding the right partners to help get there.
For Adams Building Supply, a long-time Castle member, that meant looking beyond traditional construction methods and recognizing the growing opportunity in panelized construction.
Jamie Adams | President, Adams Building Supply Limited
Peter James Hunter, General Managing Consultant at Adams Building Supply, felt the shift was about much more than a new construction method.
“I would argue that this is the wave of the future. The sooner you get comfortable and adopt these types of programs, the farther ahead of the market you’re going to be.”
It is a perspective that helped shape Adams’ decision to partner with NextGen Panels, a fast-growing, family-owned prefabrication company specializing in four- to six-story mid-rise wood-frame buildings.
The partnership brings together two businesses with complementary strengths: Adams’ experience in material supply, purchasing and customer relationships, and NextGen’s expertise in prefabrication, technology and panelized construction.
Peter James Hunter | General Managing Consultant, Adams Building Supply Limited
Rethinking How We Build
When NextGen President Brandon Veldjesgraaf approached Adams Building Supply about his plans, the company already knew the person behind the idea.
Jamie Adams, President of Adams Building Supply Limited, thinks the decision to have a panelized construction program was a natural progression.
“We had worked with Brandon successfully for many years previously on conventionally framed projects,” says Adams. “We recognized that panelization was becoming more mainstream and growing in popularity and knew we needed to have an avenue into it.”
That familiarity with NextGen was also important.
“Because of our tremendous past relationship together, it was a no-brainer to choose to partner with NextGen,” says Adams.
For Veldjesgraaf, the idea behind NextGen came from experience.
After years of onsite stick framing, he saw firsthand the limitations of conventional construction. Housing demand was increasing, but the traditional approach made it difficult to increase production at the same pace.
NextGen was created to address that challenge by moving a significant portion of the construction process into a controlled manufacturing environment.
Panelization allows wall components to be designed, cut and assembled in the plant before they arrive on site. That means less work has to be completed in the field, fewer skilled workers are required on site, and projects can move through the framing stage much faster.
The difference can be significant.
Adams says panelization can allow a project to be framed to completion in approximately one-third of the time required for conventional framing.
“Time is money in construction,” Adams says. “The largest value in panelization is in the time savings it can create on large projects.”
That time savings can have a ripple effect throughout a project. When framing is completed sooner, subsequent trades can begin sooner. When fewer activities are dependent on weather and jobsite conditions, delays can be reduced. And when a project reaches completion faster, financing costs can also be reduced while units can be sold or rented sooner.
But speed is only part of the equation. Veldjesgraaf feels the advantages of panelization also include reducing the amount of labour required on site, moving much of the work into a controlled environment and creating efficiencies through automation and technology.
“It is gaining momentum very fast,” says Veldjesgraaf. “The need for affordable housing in a timely manner, government funding, education and a general industry understanding that we need to do things differently are some of the things driving the shift.”
Precision Before the First Wall Goes Up
Many of those efficiencies begin long before a panel ever reaches the jobsite.
NextGen uses MiTek technology to create detailed drawings and coordinate the framing process before production begins. The company’s wall panels are built from MiTek drawings developed from the original AutoCAD plans, allowing the team to work to precise dimensions throughout the process.
That pre-construction coordination is critical.
Potential conflicts can be addressed before materials are cut and before crews arrive on site. The result is a process designed to reduce surprises and improve efficiency once construction begins.
It also addresses one of the common misconceptions about prefabrication: that factory-built panels are somehow less accurate than traditional stick framing.
Veldjesgraaf says the opposite is true.
NextGen has erected multiple five- and six-storey buildings using the system, and its technology is designed to maintain accuracy throughout the process.
The controlled manufacturing environment also addresses another major challenge facing the industry: labour.
Panels are built indoors, away from weather and changing jobsite conditions. Production tables allow workers to build at waist height, reducing fatigue, while automation and software help reduce the number of skilled workers required.
The result is a construction process that can make better use of the labour available.
The Partnership Behind the Panels
Technology may be an important part of the process, but for Adams and NextGen, the real opportunity comes from combining that technology with the strengths of two businesses.
For Peter Hunter, that is what makes this initiative different.
“We’re helping to solve our customers’ problems together, using the expertise that’s unique to each of our companies rather than just being separate suppliers.”
In practice, that means each company can focus on its own strengths while working toward the same goal. NextGen brings its expertise in production, prefabrication and manufacturing efficiency, while Adams brings its experience on the supply side, sourcing the materials required for large projects and ensuring they are available when needed.
That combination gives Adams the ability to pursue larger-volume projects while providing customers with a more complete solution.
“It enables us to work together to go after larger volume projects using the unique value proposition we provide when we work together,” says Adams.
And for NextGen, having a trusted partner managing the material side of the project provides another important advantage.
“If the lumber supply is sub-par the project deadlines will be difficult to reach,” Veldjesgraaf says. “Working with Adams gives a sense of security that I know they will do everything they can to make sure all obligations are met.”
That level of trust is essential when projects become larger and more complex. It also illustrates why the relationship is about more than simply supplying lumber or manufacturing panels. Each company is contributing its expertise to a larger solution.
A Different Kind of Opportunity
That collaborative approach also creates an opportunity for independent dealers.
Adams believes independent dealers are well positioned to take advantage of the continued growth in panelization because they already understand material supply, purchasing and the commodity market.
That knowledge becomes particularly valuable as projects increase in size.
Adams is already seeing interest from customers exploring panelized construction for row houses and stacked towns, while the company sees further opportunity in larger wood-frame developments.
For Hunter, recognizing that opportunity means being willing to evolve.
The message isn’t that independent dealers need to become panel manufacturers themselves. It is that they need to recognize where their expertise can create value, and where partnering with others can open doors to opportunities they might not be positioned to pursue alone.
As projects become larger and more complex, that willingness to collaborate becomes even more important.
“As the projects get bigger it takes much more resources to get the product to site. Collaboration is crucial when trying to execute something of this magnitude.”
The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
That idea of knowing where your expertise ends—and where a strong partner can add value—is at the heart of the Adams and NextGen relationship.
Neither company needs to be an expert in every aspect of construction. Instead, each brings its own expertise to the table.
Adams describes it simply:
“It’s impossible to be an expert in all facets of the construction business. We’re each highly skilled in what we do, yet we each really have limited understanding of how to run each other’s operation.”
The answer, he says, is to partner with companies that excel where you don’t.
“Partnering with those that are the best in class at what they do and leveraging each other’s strengths is the recipe for success in this industry going forward.”
For Veldjesgraaf, that philosophy extends beyond Adams and NextGen.
He wants Castle members to see the opportunity in panelization, learn more about the process and engage in conversations that can help move the industry forward.
NextGen is a small, family-owned company, but its ambition is significant: to work with builders and general contractors to improve and standardize prefabricated construction while helping the industry better understand what panelization can offer.
Building What’s Next
For Castle, the Adams and NextGen partnership represents something bigger than a new way to frame a building.
It is an example of what can happen when an independent dealer recognizes a shift in the market, finds a complementary partner and builds a business model around what each company does best.
For Hunter, the opportunity for Castle members is to recognize that shift and get ahead of it.
And for Adams, the advice to fellow independent dealers is straightforward:
“Do not be afraid to partner with people who are smarter and better than you in any aspect of your business where you see opportunity but don’t necessarily have the time or the skills to seize it.”
The construction industry is changing. The opportunity is to change with it.
For Adams Building Supply and NextGen Panels, that means building a partnership around a different way of doing business, and a different way of building.
For Castle members, it may be a reminder that the next opportunity doesn’t always come from doing more of the same.
Sometimes, it comes from finding the right partner and building something new together.
Photos courtesy of NEXTGEN Panels
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Brightwood: Precision at Scale
Waterloo, Ontario
When the scale of a project increases, so does the importance of precision, coordination and timing. The Brightwood project at 150 Wissler Road in Waterloo offers a strong example of what panelized construction can achieve when the process comes together from planning through completion.
The 128-unit project was framed in just 42.5 working days, including backframing, and the entire project was completed turnkey in 12 months from start to finish.
Perhaps most impressive: not a single panel needed to be cut on site.
That level of precision was supported by the use of high-quality lumber, including premium plates and SPF #2 and better, combined with intensive quality control both in the plant and in the field.
The result was a highly coordinated process designed to keep the project moving efficiently from production through installation.
The success of the project was also a reflection of the collaboration between the teams involved. VanMar Constructors ON Inc., the project’s General Contractor, was an important part of that success, working closely with Adams Building Supply and NextGen Panels throughout the project.
By the Numbers
128 Units
42.5 Working days to complete framing, including backframing
12 Months from start to turnkey completion
0 Panels cut on site