Element5 Continues Rapid Development – New Funding Accelerates Growth, Plant Expansion

Today it was announced that the HASSLACHER Group (HASSLACHER) is acquiring a stake in Element5.

With an office in Toronto and a manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, Element5 is a North American industry leader in the design, fabrication and assembly of contemporary mass timber structures. Element5 employs over 100 people, and produces cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued-laminated timber (glulam) structural solutions for both Canada and the United States.

Based in Austria, HASSLACHER is one of Europe’s largest and most prominent timber companies and a global innovator in the industry. With production sites across Europe, the family-run enterprise has a workforce of 2,000 people. HASSLACHER is taking this decisive strategic investment to strengthen and grow their position in the North American market.

Element5 and HASSLACHER Create Mass Timber Powerhouse in North America

Since its founding, Element5 has been at the forefront of the mass timber revolution in the North American building sector. Now, leveraging the strengths of both companies, Element5 and HASSLACHER together provide a team that creates a competitive and highly efficient global mass timber powerhouse.

Element5 logo and Hasslacher logo

"We're incredibly excited about this next phase of Element5’s journey. Hasslacher’s strength in the global marketplace, its technology, and its experienced team - together with Element5 will drive a significant acceleration in our business.
- Patrick Poulin, President and CEO of Element5

With this investment, the HASSLACHER group expands its footprint into the North American market. Leadership of both Element5 and HASSLACHER will remain unchanged and both companies will continue under their current names and brands. Business and projects will continue as usual and will be executed as contracted.

Shovels Already in Ground for Element5 Plant Expansion

The HASSLACHER investment provides additional funding to the planned expansion of the Element5 facility in St. Thomas, Ontario. In addition to the existing timber line, the expanded facility will produce large, fully machined glulam beams, columns, and assemblies.

Rendering of new Element5 Glulam plant with office frontage.

Rendering of new Element5 Glulam Manufacturing Plant with a mass timber office frontage

Work on this expansion (an extension of the original plant in St. Thomas), began at the end of 2023. This new investment however, means the size of the plant will now increase substantially from 130,000 square feet to over 350,000 square feet of floor space with office frontage.

The new glulam line is scheduled to go into full operation in the first half of 2025. Once completed, the facility will have a mass timber production capacity of 100,000 cubic meters annually - more than double the current production output. Total workforce is also expected to at least double to over 200 staff.

Snapshot of Element5's Growth Trajectory

  • 2015 - Element5 founded.
  • 2016 - Element5 purchases a small cross-laminated timber manufacturing company in Ripon, Quebec and began producing CLT and nail-laminated timber (NLT).
  • 2019 - Element5 expands its operations, and begins construction on $50M mass timber facility in Ontario.
  • 2020 - Construction completed on schedule of the most highly automated, state-of-the-art manufacturing mass timber plant in North America installed in St. Thomas, Ontario. The plant can produce 45,000 cubic meters of CLT and 5,000 cubic meters of glulam per year, for a combined output of 50,000 cubic meters of mass timber.
  • 2021- Element5 receives the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) Chain of Custody certification as well as the ANSI/APA PRG 320-2019 Standard for Performance-Rated Cross-Laminated Timber.
  • 2021 - Second shift added to St. Thomas plant to meet demand for mass timber.
  • 2022 - Element5 employs approximately 75 people between the Toronto and St. Thomas locations.
  • 2023 - Groundbreaking for factory expansion begins in St. Thomas.
  • 2024 - Construction of expansion will be substantially complete.
  • 2025 - New glulam plant projected to commence production. The expanded facility will have a production capacity of 100,000 cubic meters of mass timber.

For Further Information

Read the full Element5/HASSLACHER press release here:
Element5 receives strategic investment from the HASSLACHER Group

Contact us for questions for more information.