Mortenson opens innovation lab for construction R&D

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By Brian Johnson
BridgeTower Media Newswires

Mortenson is taking its research and development work to another level with help from a new space in Fridley, Minnesota.

The “BLUlabs” facility, located within the Northern Stacks industrial park, offers 40,000 square feet of “configurable industrial space designed to support real-world testing, prototyping and product development,” Mortenson said.

Outfitted with 3D printers, CAD equipment and software, CNC machines, a plasma cutting table, and tools for carpentry, metal, concrete, and electrical work, the space is an “incubator for the ideas that will shape the future of construction,” according to Gene Hodge, vice president of innovation at Mortenson.

“We needed a dedicated space where teams could test tools, technologies, and processes in a controlled environment. This new facility is a testament to our belief that innovation thrives when given space to grow,” Hodge said.

Hodge said the new lab in Fridley opened about a week ago, but dedicated space for testing and innovation isn’t new to Mortenson.

In January 2020, Hodge said, Mortenson established an “innovation space” within the company’s corporate headquarters. But that space had its limitations.

“The reality is, in a corporate office environment, you can’t be welding things. You could maybe be 3D printing, but that would be the extent” of what you could probably do, Hodge said.

A couple of years ago, Mortenson leased 15,000 square feet of innovation and testing space, which the company quickly outgrew.

“It was very clear that there was demand, and a lot of different groups within our company were using it. So we let that run its course for a bit, and then decided that we needed a more robust, larger, more professional environment,” Hodge said.

Mortenson identified the Fridley space as an ideal location for a larger facility. Mortenson Properties, which owns the property in partnership with Hyde Development, invested about $700,000 to build out the space and signed a five-year, market-rate lease, Hodge said.

The space is available for any team member within the company. About 15 people work at the lab every day, including the company’s solar industrialization team.

Among other projects, Hodge said, team members have created a replacement for project trailers that “mimics the corporate environment.” Within the solar world, R&D team members are working on semi-autonomous robots for pulling cable, distributing piles and moving materials around.

“We’re also working on a semi-automated assembly line that assembles the solar panels onto a torque tube to make a full array and a centralized space on a project site. We developed that product and tested it out at the lab, and then shipped it out to the project site, where it’s in use in Colorado,” Hodge said.

Derek Cunz, president and CEO of Mortenson, said in a press release that innovation is “engrained in how we work, think, and deliver projects for our customers.”

“From our early VDC efforts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, to building manufacturing facilities, to advanced industrialization on energy and data center projects, we’ve always pushed what’s possible in design and construction. BLUlabs™ is another step in our journey,” Cunz said.