Nuform Building Technologies

Picasso once said, “Everything you can imagine is real.”

Building a structurally sound building in 2 days is no longer something that can only be done with Lego. Canadian manufacturer, Nuform Building Technologies (Nuform) has a patented concrete wall forming system “CONFORM” that makes constructing a house in 2 days a reality. The system has higher grade polymer wall components, which slide with each other to interconnect like Lego pieces. The system takes 2-3 days to build, enabling the construction of 3-4 houses per week rather than the several weeks using traditional building systems.

Nuform was established as “Royal Building Systems” in 1994 and became independent in 2007. Based in Woodbridge, Ontario, their products have been used for over 10 million square feet of industrial and commercial buildings in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Nuform has become world’s leading manufacturer of stay-in-place PVC concrete forming systems and grown to 60 employees.

As featured in publications, Cleantech Canada and Canadian Manufacturing, homes built using CONFORM withstood Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in late 2013. Typhoon Haiyan cut through central Philippines and was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record with category 5 storm strength – one of the strongest tropical cyclone to ever make landfall. Nearly 13 million people were affected and 1.9 million people were left homeless. Philippine officials reached out to Nuform and they have been supplying CONFORM to rebuild the affected neighborhoods over the last two years.

While many of their competitors have manufacturing plants in China, Nuform’s single manufacturing plant has been in Woodbridge for 23 years.  Paul is clear on the reason: “Woodbridge is the ‘Silicon Valley of Plastic Extrusion’. Resin suppliers, equipment manufacturers, and a strong talent pool in extrusion operators and mechanics, tool and die makers and CNC punching machinists, are all located within a 10 kms radius. Our manufacturing presence in Woodbridge over many years is largely because of this reason.

A talent pool that can manufacture Nuform’s high quality product is critical. Whether the walls are to be used for a residential home in the Philippines or a vehicle-wash facility in Canada, Nuform’s product always needs to be of the highest quality. Skilled employees with over 20 years of experience working in plastic extrusion make this possible.

Nuform also attributes some of their manufacturing success in Canada to government support. The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ (CME) SMART program, the provincial Export Market Access (EMA) program and the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program have all helped. As Paul had told Export Wise, “we wouldn’t be able to export to over 16 countries outside North America without structures in place with Export Development Canada (EDC).”

What does the future look like for reality’s version of Lego Land? Paul says that, “If Nuform can replicate the success in existing markets we have now, there’s no reason why we can’t keep growing in new global markets!” As efficiency, quality and cost become a requirement for the building market, Nuform’s high quality, low cost building solution is bound to have tremendous success.

Nuform has laid a solid foundation and will continue to provide neighbourhoods around the world with their own brand of structural strength and dependability.