News

The Boldt Group Establishes Bildt, A Fabrication And Modular Company

Delivering projects faster, safer and to a higher degree of quality than conventional construction

APPLETON, WI, January 8, 2025 – Building on its 135-year history in the construction industry, Boldt is reimagining how buildings are planned, designed and delivered by launching Bildt, a modular and prefabrication manufacturer. Bildt was created in response to interest from facility owners, general contractors and architects to reduce project costs and increase speed to market. Industry veterans Melanie Taylor and Ben Bruns lead the new organization. As vice president of manufacturing, Taylor focuses on fabrication and manufacturing; as vice president of modular, Bruns leads sales and marketing efforts.

“As a general contractor, we recognized the need for our line of innovative, customizable permanent modular and prefabricated products that can cut construction times in half, allowing building owners to occupy and generate revenue months sooner than anticipated,” said Bruns. “Working with Bildt brings speed, standardization with customization, quality and in some cases more than a 30% reduction in first cost over site-built construction.”

Bildt manufactures modular buildings and slide-in room and bathroom pods for a variety of markets including healthcare, industrial, education and commercial. While fabrication takes place in the company’s off-site facility in Oshkosh, Wis., the site team coordinates construction activities in the field with the project’s general contractor or construction manager, or with Bildt’s field execution teams. Concurrently executing on-site construction tasks and module fabrication completes projects faster than using traditional methods.

In addition to permanent modular units, Bildt manufactures prefabricated panels and components, including headwalls; exterior wall panels and systems; steel wall studs; and interior framing assemblies tailored to project specifications.

Unique Approach

Bildt employs a pioneering approach to design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA), integrating manufacturing and prefabrication techniques and fostering collaboration among teams, including trades modeling their work. This eliminates RFIs, change orders and painful value-engineering exercises.

Cross-Industry Expertise

In the rapidly-evolving healthcare industry, in which the need for expansion or modification of facilities can arise unexpectedly, modular construction proves to be exceptionally beneficial. While Boldt has performed much of its modular and prefabrication work in the healthcare space, Bildt looks forward to leveraging this experience in additional industries.

Workforce Advantages

Bildt’s prefabrication and modular construction addresses the construction industry’s skilled labor shortage:

• Lessens barriers to entry
• Mitigates the effects of labor shortages in remote locations
• Reduces the need for constant presence of specific skilled tradespeople on a job site because a significant amount of labor occurs in Bildt’s manufacturing facility
• Within the manufacturing facility, complex work is broken down into simpler, repetitive tasks that can be learned quickly, making training easier

Experience

Boldt’s prefabrication and modular construction business has grown since its first modular project in the 1980s and accelerated significantly during the pandemic when hospitals needed to add space quickly, efficiently and uniformly. Boldt has performed work from coast to coast in the U.S., including both freestanding and modular additions to existing hospital campuses.

As one of the only modular manufacturers that also offers installation of its products as a service, Bildt’s highly-experienced teams can install and final-assemble the modules on site, completing any final construction and MEP tie-ins and preparing new facilities for occupancy.

“Rooted in our long history as builders, developers, investors and owners of projects, we understand our customers’ and the industry’s challenges. This level of understanding is something that clearly differentiates Bildt in the marketplace,” said Taylor. “Collaborating with designers and other stakeholders early in the process allows us to customize and deliver precision-engineered products to meet each project’s goals.”

About Bildt
Bildt was born out of a mission: Rebuild the construction industry, from the ground up, fulfilling the promised efficiencies of industrialization by bringing them to the built environment. We’re moving construction out of the field, into the factory, giving clients breakneck speed-to-market, higher quality, higher value and reduced waste. We specialize in a range of modular and manufactured products, from wall panels and construction components to fully volumetric permanent modular buildings. As a member of The Boldt Group family of companies, we deliver a turnkey approach: cutting-edge manufacturing and products, backed by one of the nation’s trusted and knowledgeable builders.

Supported by The Boldt Group’s 18 offices nationwide, Bildt’s prefabrication facilities support a national program, capable of shipping and installing our modular product offerings anywhere in the contiguous United States. For more information: bildt.com.

About The Boldt Group
The Boldt Group is a family of companies driven to transform the built environment and beyond, through innovation, Lean methodology and continuous process improvement. Headquartered in Appleton, Wis., our employee- and family-owned businesses focus on creating extraordinary opportunities for employees, partners, customers and communities. The Boldt Group companies serve customers nationwide.

About The Boldt Company
The Boldt Company (Boldt) is a leading professional construction services firm with customers across the United States and is a subsidiary of The Boldt Group. Founded in 1889, Boldt is a fourth-generation family and employee-owned firm headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin. Boldt is recognized as a pioneer in Lean construction and in the industrialized construction space. Boldt operates 18 offices across the U.S. that serve customers in healthcare, power, industrial, education, automotive and commercial markets.