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Japanese manufacturer Sekisui Chemical has opened a steel modular manufacturing operation in Canada as NSW seeks experienced local and overseas manufacturers to expand advanced housing production in the state.
Sekisui Chemical has opened a new modular manufacturing operation in Burlington, Ontario, producing steel-frame building modules for residential, education, institutional and commercial projects.
SEKISUI Canada Modular Solutions (CMS), a subsidiary of Japan-based Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., formally launched the Burlington operation on 19 August following equipment installation, certification and manufacturing trials.
The company says up to 90 per cent of building construction can take place in the factory before modules are transported and assembled onsite.
SEKISUI CMS CEO Masatoshi Kifuji said consistency of production and delivery were central to the company’s approach.
“Our approach is rooted in reproducible quality, ensuring the same high standards regardless of who builds a project or when it is delivered,” Kifuji said.
“We also believe that meeting commitments matters. A high-quality building delivered late is not a successful outcome.”
Canadian factory moves into production
The Canadian business was established in November 2025, when Sekisui Chemical set out plans to install production equipment, obtain modular certification and undertake manufacturing trials before commencing full-scale production around July 2026.
The company nominated annual production capacity of approximately 500 to 600 modules.
Sekisui Chemical says it has supplied more than 670,000 modular homes under its SEKISUI HEIM brand in Japan, and has also operated a modular housing business in Thailand since 2013.
Its initial Canadian target markets include one- and two-storey schools and four- to eight-storey multi-residential buildings and care facilities.
The company has also identified western Canada and the United States as possible future markets.
The August opening takes the Burlington operation from its establishment and manufacturing trial phase into local production.
NSW manufacturing program moves to next stage
The Canadian opening comes as NSW progresses its own program to establish or expand advanced construction manufacturing capacity.
Expressions of interest for the Modern Methods of Construction Industry Expansion Program closed on 3 August, with shortlisted applicants to be invited to submit binding proposals for an advanced manufacturing facility in NSW.
The program is targeting prefabricated components and modular construction, particularly for medium and higher-density housing, with potential production also extending to schools and hospitals.
Australia already has a Japanese housing manufacturing precedent
Australia already has an example of a Japanese industrialised housing system being manufactured locally.
Sekisui House, which is a separate company from Sekisui Chemical, opened its SHAWOOD Manufacturing and Quality Control Centre at Ingleburn in western Sydney in 2010.
Watch Sekisui House Australia’s manufacturing story
The facility manufactures engineered timber structural components for Australian SHAWOOD homes. Building plans prepared in Sydney are converted into computer-programmed manufacturing data in Japan, which is then used by machinery at Ingleburn to cut posts and beams and prepare the structural system for assembly.
Sekisui House says the Ingleburn operation is the only facility outside Japan equipped to pre-engineer SHAWOOD components.
This year the company reached its 1,000th SHAWOOD home in Australia, with the 1,000th dwelling under construction at Castle Hill in Sydney’s north-west.
Sekisui House and Sekisui Chemical are separate corporate entities and use different construction systems. SHAWOOD uses prefabricated engineered timber structural components, while SEKISUI CMS produces steel-frame volumetric modules.
The operations nevertheless provide two examples of Japanese industrialised construction systems being established outside their home market — one operating in NSW since 2010 and the other now entering production in Canada as NSW seeks additional local manufacturing capacity.
Find SEKISUI Canada Modular Solutions HERE
