Eco-construction company Nexii Building Solutions is being rebuilt after financial and legal troubles hobbled the business in recent years.
NEXII Inc. is now the new name of the relaunched company.
The former company was bought by Texas-based 3 Gates in a court-approved bankruptcy sale that included more than $20 million in debt obligations.
On July 24, operations officially transitioned from the old to the new owners.
“Essentially, 3 Gates ultimately owns NEXII at this point. And then we formed new companies: one in Canada and one in the United States, and those companies acquired the assets of old Nexii so that we could have a relatively fresh start as a new company,” said Bill Tucker, the CEO appointed to shepherd the company's restructuring and expansion, when he was reached on the floor of the Squamish plant on Aug.1.
In the U.S. the new company is NEXII Inc.; in Canada, its operations are NEXIIcan.
Tucker is not new to the business. He is CEO of Vancouver-based Omicron Architecture Engineering Construction Ltd. which was acquired by Nexii in 2021.
In May, there was a de-merger of Omicron Canada from Nexii.
"We've been on quite a journey here; quite a journey," said Tucker.
"The technology deserves to live. And it deserves to grow and expand."
What does NEXII do?
At its 80,000-square-foot Squamish plant, NEXII builds manufactured structural wall and roof panel systems for the building industry, with a reduced carbon footprint compared with regular construction.
Companies including Walmart, Chase Bank, AECOM and Starbucks, have used Nexii’s panels.
There have been 45 buildings built so far with the Nexii system, according to Tucker, who will later transition to the company's board of directors as the Canadian representative.
“NEXII’s construction techniques are truly superior in every way to conventional methods. We believe that with the relaunch, the restructured NEXII will be a very successful North American tech success story," said Russ Lambert, a principal with 3 Gates, in a news release.
Tucker said the new NEXII has retained many of its former Squamish employees, noting that there are currently 65 local employees.
Getting through ’cloudy skies’
Tucker acknowledged that Nexii Building Solutions had about 130 staff last fall but had to shed workers during restructuring.
It was a dramatic fall for the company that, as a startup in 2021 had reached the so-called unicorn status, meaning it had a valuation of more than $1 billion.
Tucker praised the dedication of Squamish staff in getting through the tough times.
During the "cloudy skies," of the company's financial trouble, the remaining crews built five buildings, he said.
"They did a great job. And they just really, really hung in there because they believe that innovation is something that our industry needs in the construction and building space,” he said. “Sustainability is a key component of what NEXII brings [and the] Squamish workforce is really tuned into thinking quite broadly about the mandate that we have as a company."
The company aims to hire more workers, according to Tucker.
The company’s new owners are investing $8 million into retrofitting the Squamish manufacturing plant to "enhance its production capacity, quality, and safety."
Expansion
Tucker said that, as of Aug. 1, in addition to its current warehouse, the company had leased another warehouse building nearby on the BC Rail lands.
"We are moving, on a single shift basis, to 40,000 square feet [of product] per month. And if we operate two and a half full shifts, this plant will deliver 100,000 square feet of product a month,” he said.
Tucker said the new ownership team really likes Squamish and wants to be involved in the district.
"We were immediately impressed with the quality and commitment of the Squamish workforce, and it was an easy decision to remain there and continue to invest in the plant, with plans to upgrade and expand operations,” said Blake Beckham, another principal with 3 Gates, in the news release.
“Both the Canadian workforce and the Squamish plant are crucial elements of our goal to create high-quality, environmentally friendly buildings throughout North America."
~With files from Nelson Bennett/BIV
