SAINTE-MONIQUE – A new building material designed in the region could revolutionize the industry. Jean-based businessman Marco Tremblay has officially launched OSBLOCK, a system for erecting walls piece by piece. The invention took three years to develop and required an investment of $1.2 million.

In an interview with Informe Affaires, the designer clarified that his product, made of chipboard (OSB) and polystyrene, has several advantages, particularly with regard to the speed of installation as well as the ecological aspect. “These are blocks that allow you to build walls on two floors in Quebec and up to four in Ontario. With OSBLOCK, the costs for the construction of the walls are reduced by 75% and everything can be done in the presence of only two workers in one day, everything is finished. You can compare it to [Lego briquettes],” he explains proudly. “In addition to these advantages, we have reduced the amount of waste related to the construction site, because the customer orders only what he needs. It is therefore a very interesting material for LEED construction,” he adds.

To put the partitions in place, simply stack structural blocks on top of each other, fill the slots with expanding foam, turn each system of locks included in the set to link each piece and finally, screw each corner with a square. “What’s wonderful is that we don’t need to make window lintels, because it’s the block itself that can accommodate them. In addition to all that, it is possible to pass the current wires because there are slots provided for this purpose, “says the inventor.

Successful launch in Montreal

In order to present his blocks to building contractors and hardware stores, Marco Tremblay and his team went to the Salon Expohabitation de Montréal, which took place on the weekend of February 8. According to the words of the designer, the reception of people has been excellent. “Several builders want to work with our insulated structural blocks. Some even sent their customers to our booth to be introduced to them. There has really been interest, not to mention that hardware stores would like to market the product,” says the president of OSBLOCK. “As I have a production capacity of about 4,000 houses per year, due to one per hour, I cannot yet be sold in the retail chains, because I would only be managing the shortages of stock. To enter a store, I would have to double it, ”he specifies, mentioning that a gradual entry into these types of businesses could be envisaged.

An under-exploited sector

If the response from the community is excellent, it is because the development of new products to facilitate the construction of walls is neglected by manufacturers. “There are several very interesting technologies for doors, windows and others, but for our specialty, it has remained quite traditional in the way of mounting them. My invention comes to change the way of building. People appreciate the ease and features that set us apart from the conventional wall. By comparison, they require several thousand cuts, whereas OSBLOCK only requires around a hundred,” says the designer.

Since the reception for the products is considered very positive, the OSBLOCK team will be exhibiting at a few other home shows in Canada. “After Montreal, we finally decided to go to the exhibitions in Toronto, Quebec and Saguenay. For people here, the weekend of March 8 to 11 will be the perfect opportunity to discover us,” concludes Mr. Tremblay.

To be continued in the February paper edition.