BLOX
BLOX is an integrated design-build company that manufactures large prefabricated components for buildings. It was founded in 2010 by Chris Giattina, as a spinoff from Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio. In 2014 the firm moved to a 50-acre site at the Interstate Industrial Park in Bessemer. BLOX currently employs 390 people. Its revenues for 2018 were $48.6 million.
BLOX describes its methodology as "DMC", for "design-manufacture-construct". The first major project to utilize BLOX's DMC components was Cardiovascular Associates clinic on Colonnade Parkway, completed in 2012. The company has specialized in patient rooms and restrooms for healthcare facilities, a manufacturing niche known as "modular medical pre-fab sub-assemblies", but has also delivered components for offices and other building types.
In 2019 BLOX announced an investment from the Jacksonville, Florida-based design and construction firm Haskell. In January 2021 the company secured another $40 million investment from ASH Ventures of Atlanta, Georgia.
In 2023, the Helena, Montana, temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was completed after being manufactured at BLOX's Bessemer facility. It is the first of a series of temples BLOX will manufacture for the church that will be erected around the world, including on small islands in the Pacific.
References
- Chambers, Jess (October 10, 2013) "Medical construction firm BLOX seeks to locate in Bessemer, asks city council for tax break." The Birmingham News
- Rebman, Stephanie (April 6, 2018) "How Chris Giattina’s BLOX is building a giant, one piece at a time." Birmingham Business Journal
- Patchen, Tyler (June 24, 2019) "BLOX scores investment from Florida company." Birmingham Business Journal
- Thornton, William (February 1, 2021) "Bessemer’s BLOX gets $40 million investment. The Birmingham News
- "How the House of the Lord in Helena Was Built Differently: Modular construction is quicker and preserves quality" (May 15, 2023) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News release.
- Bains, David (November 26, 2023) "The Next Generation of Mormon Temples is Being Manufactured in Bessemer, Alabama." Chasing Churches
External links
- BLOX website