Adapt, evolve, and innovate. The past three years have taught us that markets can change in the blink of an eye…
ProPart Modular’s answer to the challenge of keeping quality construction affordable and fast is System 40™. This versatile and patented wall system is environmentally friendly, clean, and offers major cost savings. This means that the end of one configuration or project is simply the beginning of another.
From its base at a modern 25,000-square-foot facility in Burlington, Ontario, ProPart Modular has operated mainly in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) area for forty-one years. The company has also sold its ready-to-assemble kits to several industries internationally, and it is now looking to team up with industry partners from all over North America.
Requests for the company’s ingenious System 40™ started rolling in from across the continent catapulting it from a thriving local modular construction outfit to a modular wall system manufacturer to watch in as little time as it took COVID-19 to disrupt supply chains across the United States and Canada.
“Through the pandemic, we had quite a few companies reach out [due to] material shortages and supply chain issues. We started shipping our product to various customers in New Brunswick, British Columbia, [and elsewhere] just in kit form, and then they found local installation services,” says President Ryan Frankland.
This new demand became a growth opportunity that allowed the company to expand its reach.
Keeping the wolf from the door during times of transition all comes down to planning, as one longstanding automotive fabrication client could attest when its in-house floor space requirements dropped significantly due to technological advances in its manufacturing systems. The ProPart modular team was at the ready to reduce the number of walls to suit its needs, while the salvaged materials were repurposed elsewhere.
“There are a lot of cost savings over the lifespan of a business. Things are going to change, and it was highlighted by this pandemic,” Frankland says.
The company’s products are incredibly versatile. From office partitions and interiors to industrial plant solutions, controlled environments, and prefabricated buildings, System 40™ is fast becoming the favourite of architects, designers, and engineers across the continent. Currently, clients in Ontario benefit from comprehensive services that include design, supply, and installation, while trade partners further afield can order complete System 40™ kits for self-installation.
“We provide material and support around the clock for a seamless installation. We received high accolades in reference to saving the customer much time, money, and potential hardship,” Frankland says proudly.
The product is easy to order and lends itself to smooth design and project management. Of its current projects, about sixty percent focus on re-configuring systems installed in the past. This includes a client that is reconfiguring existing modules and expanding into a new 8,000-square-foot modular cleanroom.
The product “is green, clean, reusable,” says Frankland, and since it lasts, “It also brings great connections with customers.” In the process, trade partners now can offer their customers a state-of-the-art modular solution that performs to top standards.
“I call it a win-win relationship. They have a new avenue of business, and we have more people we can help. The goal for us is to expand our geographical reach through partnerships,” Frankland adds.
The company works hand-in-hand with clients to create the perfect fit for each modular construction it installs. Its system is easy and clean to erect, without the rubble and dust generated by conventional construction and drywalling; therefore, customers can be back in business in no time.
As all construction elements are provided by ProPart, there are no trade-related delays either. Its fast-to-erect panels are joined with no mechanical fasteners. The corners offer airtight seals, making it perfect for clients that require standards as demanding as the International Standards Organization (ISO’S) Class 7 certification for cleanrooms, for instance. The panels are treated to keep contamination build-up as low as possible while having a fire resistance of at least one hour.
For North American businesses that value environmental stewardship, the SYSTEM 40™ is surprisingly ecologically-responsible and is deemed a sustainable building method. It takes the metal from only eight recycled cars to erect sufficient metal framing for a 2,000-square-foot construction.
Frankland joined the company in 2007, starting in the sales department and advancing from there. With the sad and sudden passing of his father around nine years later, he took over the president’s chair in November 2016 and is grateful today for the lessons learned back then.
The company itself is the direct result of System 40™. The product was developed toward the end of the 1960s but the company took over the wall system when it opened its doors in 1981. Its legacy of teamwork survives to this day.
The ProPart team is a tight-knit group of nearly thirty dedicated industry experts, and that dedication shows in the length of tenures that typically stretch over several decades. “We follow our values. Growth, respect, integrity, and, the most important one: teamwork,” says Frankland, who notes that the company fosters a “very family-like,” atmosphere since “everyone’s been around each other for such a long time.”
He also points out the importance of hiring to support and deepen the culture of a business. One of the firm’s secrets is the amount of work that goes into understanding its people’s personalities and how they work together best. The company wants to set itself “up for success, so culture is very important,” he adds.
That includes its continued culture of embracing change. As the construction industry rallied to mitigate the effects of supply chain issues, ProPart Modular proved that thinking out of the box is vital in responding to current markets. The company will continue honing this aspect in the same way its systems allow clients to be flexible, passing on benefits and growing alongside them.
Any architects, engineers, general contractors, integrators, dealers, et cetera that are interested in a potential partnership, please reach out directly to Ryan Frankland @ partners@pro-part.com.
