New from Katerra: KOVA Select
From a distribution standpoint, it’s not your typical product rollout.
For its ambitious plans to disrupt the building-industry supply chain, as well as its ability to raise venture capital to the tune of $4 billion, Katerra has earned its share of industry attention.
The technology-driven, off-site construction company’s latest move – an expansion of its KOVA brand of products for the home interior – was unveiled as KOVA Select. It’s described as a special collection designed exclusively by Katerra’s Industrial Design team, featuring clean lines and minimal ornamentation.
The product is designed as a kind of upscale line for the masses. “We created KOVA Select to offer builders and designers a collection of materials and finishes that are affordable but meet the highest design and quality standards,” said Trevor Schick, head of the KOVA materials business.
The product is not aimed for distribution through traditional LBM distributors.
The first offering of the KOVA SELECT line includes the Modular Plumbing System, a complete kit of core plumbing fixtures and accompanying installation materials for the kitchen and bath.
Menlo Park, Calif.-based Katerra was formed in 2015 with a plan to vertically integrate construction, essentially bypassing dealers and distributors and optimizing through technology the construction and supply process. “Katerra unlocks higher productivity by pushing as much component completion as possible to the factory environment,” according to its web site. “Shifting increased level of completion (LOC) to our factories rather than job sites allows us to develop more pieces of our buildings as products and offers savings.”
Whether or not the diverse building industry landscape will revolutionize building as we know it, Katerra and companies like it have entered the radar of lumber dealers as potential competition, particularly in the multi-family construction arena.
In September, Katerra opened a high-volume cross-laminated timber (CLT) factory in Washington.
The technology-driven, off-site construction company’s latest move – an expansion of its KOVA brand of products for the home interior – was unveiled as KOVA Select. It’s described as a special collection designed exclusively by Katerra’s Industrial Design team, featuring clean lines and minimal ornamentation.
The product is designed as a kind of upscale line for the masses. “We created KOVA Select to offer builders and designers a collection of materials and finishes that are affordable but meet the highest design and quality standards,” said Trevor Schick, head of the KOVA materials business.
The product is not aimed for distribution through traditional LBM distributors.
The first offering of the KOVA SELECT line includes the Modular Plumbing System, a complete kit of core plumbing fixtures and accompanying installation materials for the kitchen and bath.
Menlo Park, Calif.-based Katerra was formed in 2015 with a plan to vertically integrate construction, essentially bypassing dealers and distributors and optimizing through technology the construction and supply process. “Katerra unlocks higher productivity by pushing as much component completion as possible to the factory environment,” according to its web site. “Shifting increased level of completion (LOC) to our factories rather than job sites allows us to develop more pieces of our buildings as products and offers savings.”
Whether or not the diverse building industry landscape will revolutionize building as we know it, Katerra and companies like it have entered the radar of lumber dealers as potential competition, particularly in the multi-family construction arena.
In September, Katerra opened a high-volume cross-laminated timber (CLT) factory in Washington.
