SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE AUGUST 2016
NUDURA
NUDURA’s innovative products are in the vanguard of a revolutionary change sweeping the building industry. The change is being driven by two key factors: increasing consumer pressure for more energy efficient, environmentally-focused products, and the rising costs of construction, including both the direct and the financing costs. Together, these forces are causing builders to think more long term, both in the effects of the materials they use and in the longevity and lifetime costs of the buildings they put up.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • AUGUST 2016
By Charlene Boyce N UDURA’s innovative products are in the vanguard of a revolutionary change sweeping the building industry. The change is being driven by two key factors: increas- ing consumer pressure for more energy efficient, envi- ronmentally-focused products, and the rising costs of construction, including both the direct and the financing costs. Together, these forces are causing builders to think more long term, both in the effects of the materials they use and in the longevity and lifetime costs of the build- ings they put up. NUDURA produces a line of ICF – insulated concrete forms. When used in place of wood framing, concrete buildings created with ICF products last longer, go up faster, cost less to insure, and realize substantial lifetime cost savings through reduced energy use. NUDURA’s
products introduce important innovations to the process that increase speed of construction and further reduce costs. Murray Snider, President and CEO of NUDURA points out that often, “politics and old money lobby groups have stalled the use of innovative products like ICF.” and that “ICF construction has proven to be the best way to build.” ICF and NUDURA– a historic overview According to the Alberta Ready-Mix Concrete Associa- tion’s website, 128,000 homes have been built in North America with ICF since the 90s. In 2015, Green Builder Magazine named NUDURA’s insulated concrete forms to
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AUGUST 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
its Hot 50 list, a list of the hottest products available for today’s green homes (other products included decking made of rice husks and a Bluetooth-enabled lock). So, where did ICF come from? Originating in Europe as a cost-effective way to rebuild from World War II damage, ICF form technology has been used with increasing frequency on this side of the ocean since the 1950s, with the market heating up since 1970. Murray names Jean-Louis Belliveau as a key driver and pioneer in the ICF industry, who was instrumental in bringing insulated concrete form technology to North America. Jean-Louis is the President of Polyform Inc, NUDURA’s partner company. Jean-Louis has been a strong influence in the design evaluation of ICF products. Driving Innovation In 2001 Murray formed a partnership with Polyform and launched NUDURA. Combining successful marketing techniques with cutting edge product design, NUDURA has become the industry leader in the ICF market. “You’re still working with concrete and you need to understand that material. Using the forms is fairly simple, but it is a professional construction product and you need proper training.” TrademarkedasDURAMAX, DURAFOLDandDURALOCK, the various innovations NUDURA has introduced mean the product is larger and faster to put together, ships flat like IKEA™ products (thanks to a clever hinge design), and snaps together like LEGO™. Like these iconic brands, NUDURA products have a solid fan base of design profes- sionals, architects, home owners and contractors. NUDURA products incorporate recycled materials and can contribute greatly to a home’s LEED qualification. THE BUSINESS CASE As often happens when a company is leading the way in a new innovative product, Murray is as much a spokesman, advocate and historian of ICF forms in general as he is a passionate champion for NUDURA’s products. He is also a smart, incisive business man, with an excellent grasp of the financials that affect his customers. NUDURA products have been used to build over 200 schools in the United States alone. Murray cites a fact about the procurement process that has helped this success:
“In the US, the same person is responsible for the con- struction budget of the school and the operating budget
of the school. This means they can consider not only the short term building costs of materials but also the life time savings of energy effi- ciency. This approach is better for the life of the school and much more cost-effective for the taxpayer.” “These schools are performing on average 75% better in energy and heat efficiency versus other conven- tional constructed schools and most of the schools today are being built net-zero.” School in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The school paired ICF technology with a solar array to create theUS’s first Net-Zero school. Administrators also cite ICF’s durability and fire safety as attractive features. (link https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=jZBTpfnr-Tg). Net-Zero means the school produces as much clean energy as it consumes. Energy efficiency is a key aspect of this equation. The NUDURA wall efficiently has enabled designers to reduce the heating and cooling loads so dramatically that they can now design solar panels into their projects while staying on budget. The growing mid-rise market is essential to NUDURA’s success. This encompasses buildings such as hotels, apartment buildings, dormi- tories and seniors’ residences. With income properties such as these, energy efficiency over the life of the building is an absolutely essen- tial factor in planning, meaning that ICF’s tendency to retain heat in cold weather and remain cool in warm weather makes it very attractive. “For commercial mid-rise construc- tion, the capital outlay is the same or less in many cases, but when incor- porating the true costs of financing and operating ICF construction is by far the best option,” says Murray. “Wood frame construction is usually estimated for a 30 year lifespan, while ICF is much longer – more than 100 years. Over the lifespan of the building, ICF retains its value.” NUDURA has posted a video on YouTube profiling Richardsville
The construction time is another important business consideration. Murray says, “If a builder is investing in, say, a high-rise construction, there has to be significant attention paid to financing. Our product can cut 2 to 3 months from the construction schedule. With the financing and carrying costs cut by that time, the builder will see a faster ROI.” He notes insurance carrying costs for wood frame construction versus ICF can be up to 11 ½ times as much. He cites an insurance study conducted by Global Advisors for the Concrete Council of Canada, the same study indicates that operational insurance costs are also higher for wood-frame buildings. MARKETS In addition to mid- and high-rise construction and schools, NUDURA serves the custom-built residential market. Their products are often chosen by small, high-end builders for their energy and environment conscious customers. EDUCATING CONTRACTORS “One of our industry downfalls in the past has been not putting enough focus on training contractors and tradespeople to use the product,” admits Murray. In 2014, NUDURA was one of the companies to help found the CICFI, a new industry association for ICF that is concentrating a lot of effort on training. “One of our industry downfalls in the past has been not putting enough focus on training contractors and tradespeople to use the product,” While the LEGO™ like design and flexibility of the product make NUDURA’s forms fairly easy to use, Murray notes, “You’re still working with concrete and you need to understand that material. Using the forms is fairly simple, but it is a professional construction product and you need proper training.” The NUDURA site features ample resources for designers, architects and con- tractors to learn more about the products and how to incorporate them into any building design for maximum efficiency. NUDURA’s products are distributed in 30 countries. The success of NUDURA and its distribution partners has been driven by training and education and supported by three Polyform state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Granby, Quebec; Columbus, Georgia; and Coldale, Alberta.
NUDURA North America 866-468-6299 International +1 705-726-9499
www.nudura.com
as spotlighted in the AUGUST 2016 issue of SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
www.spotlightonbusinessmagazine.com
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