Katerra has plans for a new advanced manufacturing factory in California
By David Malone, Associate Editor
Katerra, a construction technology company, recently revealed plans to build an advanced manufacturing factory in California’s Central Valley. The Tracy, Calif., facility will produce building components such as wall panels, floor systems, roof truss assemblies, windows, cabinets, and finishes.
The 577,000-sf, factory will complement Katerra’s existing California operations, including its headquarters in Menlo Park and office in San Francisco. The new facility will differ from Katerra’s first, located in Phoenix, Ariz., by including significantly more automation, including fully automated wood frame wall production lines, automated floor lines, automated cabinet and finish areas, automated roof truss lines, an automated window line, and a light gauge steel production line.
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The new facility will be located near rail, shipping ports, and freeways and create more than 500 jobs for the area. Production is slated to begin in 2019. Katerra is also in the process of building a mass timber manufacturing facility in Spokane, Wash., that will produce cross-laminated timber wall panels and floor systems when it becomes operational in 2019.