A Canadian entrepreneur wants homebuilding to be simpler than assembling IKEA furniture.
Clint Harrowing is the mastermind behind Fiber Frame, a Calgary-born upstart that is launching to build durable, energy-efficient buildings in unforgiving climates with minimal human labour.
Fiber Frame utilizes fibreglass as its primary material, leveraging a from-scratch design that allows pieces to click together without a need for screws.
Fibreglass, Harrowing says, boasts key advantages, including water resistance and durability in harsh climates. But a house needs to be designed around the material in order to realize the full potential of fibreglass.
With Fiber Frame, builders can combine the speed and ease of wood framing with the durability of fibreglass, according to Harrowing.
Fiber Frame, a member of Innovate Calgary‘s Social Innovation Hub, is currently working on scalability and commercialization.
Through Alberta Innovates’ voucher program, for example, Harrowing’s team secured $100,000 in grant funding to support engineering and third-party testing.
“Social Innovation Hub caught my eye pretty quickly,” Harrowing recalls.
So far, Fiber Frame has built moulds and run initial tests for its framing technology, which Harrowing believes could prove particularly useful in remote regions, where access to skilled tradesmen can prove challenging and costly.
“If there’s something anyone can put together, it speeds up the process and makes it easier for people to get houses built,” he stated.
The Alberta company is also in development of a patent strategy, actively working with an intellectual property expert through Calgary’s incubator network.
According to Harrowing, who still works full-time as an accountant, Fiber Frame has already received letters of intent from organizations interested in purchasing the product once testing is complete.
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