Canadian thermoplastic composites manufacturer to supply homes in Haiti

A Canadian manufacturer of reinforced thermoplastics composites has signed a US$68 million contract to supply housing for large-scale reconstruction projects in Haiti and Ghana.

The contract calls for Toronto-based Innovative Composites International Inc. (ICI) to provide two million square feet of its EcoScape composite housing product for projects in the two impoverished nations.

The company signed the contract with Palm Beach, Fla.-based construction conglomerate Barclays Gedi Group.

According to ICI, the EcoScape houses are durable, energy efficient, and resistant to rot, mold and insects. “They provide portable, as well as permanent, fast deployment solutions for disaster relief situations, mining camps, troop and command shelters, and other housing needs,” ICI said on its website.  

In a related move, ICI has also announced plans to start up a second manufacturing facility in South Carolina – with this new order representing 40 per cent of  its planned output – which is expected to start shipping houses in the first quarter of 2012.

ICI was formed in 2007 by former Magna International employees Terry Ball and Fraser Wray.