News

Jan 16, 2024

Blueprint Robotics wood frame company to bring 120 jobs to Windsor

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Blueprint Robotics

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Blueprint Robotics of Baltimore is expanding to Windsor's Day Hill Road, a corporate hub known for a large Amazon warehouse.

A rendering of the Blue Print Robotics facility planned for Windsor represents the "largest industrial building constructed entirely out of mass timber in North America."

WINDSOR — A Baltimore-based wood frame construction solutions company says it's coming to town, bringing about 120 jobs and increasing the company's production capacity by 250 percent.

Blueprint Robotics manufactures wood frame components used in the construction of multifamily housing. The 450,000-square-foot Windsor plant will be the largest industrial building constructed entirely out of mass timber in North America, according to CEO Jerry Smalley.

"Our medium is wood," Smalley said. "We build wood buildings in panels and then assemble them on our customers' foundations. We only bring the structure and the electrical system, the plumbing system, the HVAC system and the fire protection system. We don't finish the building. We represent about 55 to 65 percent of the building."

The 62-acre lot on Day Hill Road selected by Blueprint is currently vacant. It is expected the facility will cost $97 million to design and construct. Smalley hopes to break ground in June or July and have the construction finished in the third quarter of 2024.

Once the plant is functional, it will fabricate mass timber components and large-scale cross-laminated timber. The company's Baltimore location is running at full-capacity.

"We need this building," Smalley said. "We need this capacity."

The Windsor Town Council approved an economic development incentive for Blueprint at a Dec. 19 meeting. Town Manager Peter Souza explained that the incentive is for five years. The abatement will be 65 percent per year as long as the company incorporates sustainability elements in the project, such as solar energy systems. If sustainability elements are not constructed or incorporated the abatement would be 60 percent per year.

The town estimates that in the year following abatement, town tax revenue will be $1,112,000. Later this spring, Blueprint will appear before the Planning and Zoning Commission.

"It's zoned industrial, so they don't have to rezone," Souza said. "What they need to do is come in and they need to do a primary perm. They need to get what's called a site plan permit."

Smalley said Blueprint chose the location in Windsor because of the increasing demand for the products in the Northeast as the popularity of multifamily housing grows. He also cited proximity to the highway and the available workforce as incentives.

"Our market is growing to the Northeast," Smalley said. "The Northeast is more advanced than the rest of the country with regard to building sustainable buildings."

Windsor Economic Development Director Patrick McMahon said they encouraged the company to hold job fairs to recruit town residents and residents of neighboring towns. The 120 jobs will be in a variety of positions, ranging from carpenters and plumbers to HVAC technicians and truck drivers, Smalley said.

"We think we offer building innovation and a better way to build, and we're excited to bring that opportunity to the Northeast," Smalley said.

[email protected]