5Qs for FMGI’s Darin Ross on 3D concrete printers
Darin Ross’s path to a career in retail real estate presented itself early in his life. When he was still in school, he worked summers building restaurants with his father. After graduating, he rejoined his dad and started a facility maintenance company that did a lot of work for Home Depot.
Desiring a bigger business pipeline, they moved to Atlanta and formed FMGI, a full-service general contractor focused on development, remodeling, facility maintenance, and special projects throughout the Southeast for clients that include Walmart, Tractor Supply, Aldi, and Circle K.
Chain Store Age recently spoke to Ross about the challenges that center developers and retail brands face finding reliable — and reasonable — construction labor in the current real estate market.
Finding quality construction crews is a problem for expanding retail brands that seems to have no good solution. What’s the deal?
There is a transition going on right now. We’re not seeing as many young folks getting into the trades. What we’ve done at FMGI is position ourselves with contractors. We’ve worked hard on building relationships with subcontractors, and we haven’t had much of a problem securing the labor we need to get the job done. We’ve hired more than 30 new people this year to support our workload and continue to seek qualified professionals committed to our high-performance standards.
We understand that you’ve begun using 3D concrete printers. Tell us about that.
Yes. We’ve completed two 3DCP projects for Walmart. We are bullish on 3D concrete printing and expect to see its demand surge within the next 12 to 18 months. Here’s how it works. We optimize a proprietary concrete mix onsite based on current weather conditions. Then our 3DCP robot is programmed and prints the concrete in exact measurements that deliver precision and consistency. The robot continues to print while our crew oversees the process.
How does 3D concrete printing compare to the cost of concrete mason crews?
With 3DCP, we can work with a five-person crew versus an eight-to-12-person crew. The robot is more precise, more consistent. It can output more production and work for extended hours, saving both time and money. Much of that cost reduction comes from not having to erect scaffolding.
How does the quality of concrete printing match up against that of the work done by concrete mason crews?
We think that the quality of the work is the same, and we’re getting a stronger wall. The psi breaking point of a 3DCP wall is 7000, which is 350% stronger than masonry concrete. Also, we are realizing a 55% reduction in waste as compared to CMU — 4.5% waste down from 10% waste.
What do 3D concrete printers cost?
We have purchased two robots and mixing equipment required for 3DCP. It is a significant financial investment that demonstrates our confidence in the technology and its application in retail real estate construction.
