CHICAGO (February 3, 2020) — Z Modular, a leading innovator in off-site construction in North America, has commissioned robotics in its new automated manufacturing facility in Killeen, Texas, about 70 miles north of Austin. The specially developed robotics, never before used in the construction industry, ensure greater precision and accelerate production. It is one of four Z Modular manufacturing facilities and part of a broader Z Modular^® Network of factories building with the open-source Z Modular Building Ecosystem, enabling a total annual production capacity of 10 million sq. ft.

The Killeen facility features over 200,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and a 2 million sq. ft. production capacity on its own. Specialized equipment includes material-handling robots, welding robots, automated cranes, CNC machines for structural floorboards, conveyors, and 30+ stations for outfitting modules and preparing them for transportation to job sites. The equipment allows a team of nearly 200 tradespeople, engineers and operations managers to complete up to 80% of the total construction of a project within the factory. The facility is currently producing modules for apartments and hotels.

Z Modular’s three other factories are strategically located in Birmingham, Alabama; Chandler, Arizona; and Kitchener, Ontario. Z Modular design offices are located in Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and both Kitchener and Toronto, Ontario. The Kitchener and Chandler factories will commission robotics in February and March, respectively, to build student housing, hotels and apartments.

“The real value of working with Z Modular comes from cost predictability, speed, quality and scale,” said Mickey McNamara, president of Z Modular and executive vice president of Zekelman Industries, the parent company of Z Modular. “The way we manage quality here just can’t be done on-site. And we know at the start of the design process how much the project will cost and when it’ll be delivered — and we know it’ll be done in as little as half the time that’s possible with on-site construction.”