ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO — Element5, a company specializing in the design, fabrication, and assembly of contemporary mass timber structures, built a 130,000-square-foot facility in St. Thomas in 2020 on 40 acres of land in the city’s north end. 

The facility generates about 50,000 cubic meters of cross-laminated timber (CLT) a year.

Work on the St. Thomas expansion started in 2023 and increased Element5's footprint to over 350,000 square feet, with plans to produce another 50,000 cubic meters of glue-laminated timber (glulam) annually starting in 2025. The $100 million total expansion allows Element5 to produce wood beams and columns in addition to panels, serving a broader segment of the $2 billion global mass timber market.

According to a 2023 Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) research report, mass timber accounted for one percent of all building construction materials in North America. The global mass timber market reached $1.6 billion in 2022 and was forecast to rise to $1.9 billion in 2023. Analysts estimate the market could reach $4.9 billion by 2030. Canada’s share of the global mass timber market was about $379 million in 2023.

The building sector is the third most carbon-intensive industry in Canada, accounting for 13 percent of all emissions in 2022, or 92 million tons of CO2e. (CO2e signifies the amount of CO2 which would have the equivalent global warming impact.) Canada aims to cut that amount to 53 million tons by 2030.

Widespread adoption of wood, specifically mass timber, as a substitute or complement to concrete and steel could cut embodied emissions in buildings by as much as 25 percent.

Because mass timber products are manufactured using a renewable resource, they have a smaller carbon footprint than steel or concrete. Wood also sequesters carbon and its light weight reduces foundation requirements in construction, saving time, money, and carbon. Mass timber can also be combined with other materials in hybrid configurations designed to meet special loading or lateral requirements.

“Our footprint has started to increase,” said Chris Latour, Element5 vice president of engineering and operations. “Product demand is coming from all sectors.”

In February, The Hasslacher Group of Austria made a strategic investment in Element5 to fuel growth in the North American market and support the St. Thomas expansion. Element5 now calls St. Thomas its headquarters.

Element5 recorded 2023 sales of about $30 million and is forecasting $40 million in 2024 and $100 million in 2030. The sales forecasts reflect optimism generated by a recent Government of Ontario announcement planning building code changes to speed up housing production and reduce construction costs. The Province is rewriting regulations to allow mass timber buildings as high as 18 stories, an increase from the current 12-story limit.

Element5’s St. Thomas investment is the largest in the city in the last 20 years, according to Sean Dyke, chief executive officer at St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation.

“What it does for the community is add that prosperity that we’ve been looking for,” added Dyke. “The city has been very fortunate. The last few years have all been growth years. This is another element of the expansion.”