Citygie Group acquires a stake in Cubik Home
On February 1, the Citygie group became a minority shareholder in Cubik Home, a research and innovation company which, thanks to a proprietary patent, is developing off-site construction technologies using low-carbon fibre-reinforced concrete.
""This investment will enable the Citygie group, a key player in the sustainable, agile city sector, and now the leader in modular construction for local authorities, to diversify its portfolio of activities. This investment remains true to the Citygie group's development strategy, which is focused on private customers while capitalizing on its industrial know-how"", says Eric Piroud, CEO of the Citygie group.
""As a shareholder of Cubik Home, I am delighted that the Citygie group has taken a stake in the company and that the new governance structure has already been set up. Citygie has therefore become Cubik Home's main partner in the development of the process and the construction of new sustainable housing, all in a context of strong growth in off-site demand”, states Alain Laurier, a shareholder in Cubik Home through his company, CHR.
Industrializing the housing construction sector
In developing Cubik Home, the Citygie group will mobilize its pre-fabricated concrete production facilities. The Group is also preparing to open a second production site near Bourg-en-Bresse to scale up its production capacity to meet strong market demand. ""The first few months of the partnership between the Citygie group and Cubik Home will see the production of the first demonstration house; a prefabricated, fully-equipped single-family home, before it is installed at the site”, says Eric Piroud. The first house will be completed soon and will enable us to obtain all necessary technical certifications.
Prefabricated construction for greater agility
500,000 new homes must be built each year in France to meet demographic growth and to prevent housing shortages (1). Previously confined to mobile homes and temporary buildings, off-site construction is now demonstrating sustainable benefits both for individuals and small collective housing projects.
“Pre-fabricating buildings in off-site workshops reduces the impact of construction sites on neighbourhoods by dramatically reducing disturbances (noise, traffic, waste, etc.), and on the environment through the consumption of fewer materials than traditional construction, and also through the use of low-carbon concrete and other biosourced materials”, explains Alain Laurier.
Another advantage is that off-site construction workforces can be supervised and trained within industrial environments, while the traditional construction sector struggles to recruit on-site personnel. Off-site construction has been widely adopted in many countries and particularly in Scandinavia and Asia. Innovation is at the heart of its business and Cubik Home aims to become the benchmark company in the French market, and to develop its processes under license to other industrial partners abroad.
(1) - Rapport Rebsamen - Commission pour la relance durable de la construction de logements - Tome 1.
https://www.gouvernement.fr/partage/12460-rapport-rebsamen-commission-pour-la-relance-durable-de-la-construction-de-logements-tome-1