Over the wall

UBB Corp.
Location: Mississauga, Ont.
What it does: Manufactures building blocks that dramatically speed up wall construction
President and CEO: Peter Uhl

If you’re managing a construction project, it’s prudent to assume Murphy’s Law is in full effect. That was certainly Peter Uhl’s experience in 2005.

Uhl, at the time the estate manager for a CEO who liked building and flipping houses in his spare time, had barely begun a job to build a US$15-million house in Southampton, N.Y., when things started to go wrong—very wrong. The carpenters weren’t even close to completing the house’s framing when the electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople arrived—none of whom could start their jobs until the walls were up.

“It screwed up my timetable and cost my boss lots of money,” says Uhl. He brooded about the fiasco that entire summer. Amid the Gyproc jungle of his discontent, Uhl came up with a big idea—the Ultimate Building Block (UBB)—that would make it cheaper to build walls for buildings of up to four storeys, everything from houses to condos and factories. Far quicker, too: Uhl says that by removing wall construction as a major bottleneck, his blocks cut construction times by as much as two-thirds.

Today, the Austrian-born former builder is on the eve of taking his big idea to market through UBB Corp., the Mississauga, Ont.-based firm he started in 2009. Uhl got his product to this stage with a strategy that other entrepreneurs with breakthrough products could emulate. Uhl systematically identified the challenges he would face in making his blocks commercially viable. Then, through diligent networking, he found people with the technical expertise needed to lick these challenges, offering them shares in his company in return for their help.

The UBB is a type of insulated concrete form (ICF). Builders pour concrete into conventional ICFs, generally made of styrene, to create a rough wall—one that still requires finishing on both the inside and outside surfaces. Not so with Uhl’s blocks, which are made from 100% recycled plastics and provide a finished exterior, vapour barrier, insulation and inner stud wall in a single step. Unlike standard ICFs, the 24- by 12-inch UBBs have built-in spaces for wiring and plumbing. The tongue-and-groove design makes them easy to slide together to form a wall that the builder then fills with rebar and concrete. At about $19 per square foot, UBBs are 15% cheaper than most forms of wood construction and significantly cheaper than all-concrete construction, says Uhl. And, he adds, the blocks’ R40 insulation value cuts cooling and heating costs by 38% versus wood-frame houses.

UBB Corp. has raised $850,000 from private investors so far to fund its certifications and testing, patents, mould construction and working capital. Uhl credits this financing success in large part to his “it takes a village” approach to R&D. By enlisting the technical expertise and solid reputations of a group of contacts he calls his ­“advisory pool,” Uhl was able to leverage their specialized knowledge and trustworthiness to raise further funding.

One of Uhl’s first technical challenges was in creating the connector joints that attach the outer and inner walls of each block. This was crucial, because having internal connectors—rather than the outside supports standard on other ICFs—would allow builders to create finished walls in a single step. But to meet building codes, the joints would need to withstand pressure of up to 2,000 psi. And, because Uhl wanted to target international markets—especially in Europe, where most construction uses concrete, not wood—he’d need to design the blocks so they’d be easy to transport. For almost two years, this small but essential joint bedevilled him.

Then, a specialist in plastics manufacturing whom Uhl had contacted early in the process suggested Uhl approach Wilhelm Knecht for advice. Knecht is a Brampton, Ont.-based toolmaker with expertise in creating the type of plastic connectors Uhl was seeking. “I explained my problem, and it took him 20 minutes to come up with a solution,” says Uhl. Not only did Knecht design the connectors, he also fashioned them so they could pivot to close up the space between the inner and outer wall. In their collapsed state, the UBBs are smaller and thus cheaper to ship.

Early on, Uhl assembled his advisory pool of technical experts, who received shares in UBB Corp. Uhl says their expertise helped give him the credibility needed to secure private investors and a bank loan to fund R&D. The advisory pool also filled the gaps in his own expertise, such as in the plastics and mould-making critical to manufacturing the blocks. With limited funds to hire anyone, Uhl decided to take on Knecht as a partner and vice-president.

The next major obstacle came in finding a way to create the forms needed for house construction. This required expertise in moulding and structural foam—again, areas in which Uhl needed outside help. Through Knecht, he found a structural foam moulder who agreed to create the required moulds and exchange manufacturing credits for shares in the company.

The final technical hurdle came in finding a plastic resistant to fire and able to withstand the sun’s UV rays. Uhl’s advisors led him to an Italian manufacturer of UV-stable polymer plastics that uses plastics from landfills as its major input. The two firms partnered earlier this year and plan to develop a prototype manufacturing plant in Brampton. Although UBB Corp. is still pre-revenue, Uhl says, a conservative projection of his company’s sales is $20 million by 2013.

Uhl has shown his prototypes to carpenters’ unions, architects, builders and developers to seek their input and build interest. He says the feedback has been good, with builders “enthusiastic” about the potential savings of time and money.

All of which has Uhl pumped up to build his first proof-of-concept home this summer in Hamilton. He’s keen to demonstrate that his building blocks will prevent the sort of foul-up that gave him the idea for the product in the first place.