Industrial projects are never simple. Every new facility demands hundreds of decisions, tight timelines, and constant coordination among teams. What keeps it all on track isn’t luck; it’s transparency.
That’s exactly what A.R. Thomson Group Inc. is investing in. Working alongside Scott Builders, commercial builders in Edmonton, the company has recently broken ground on a 163,342-square-foot consolidation facility in Edmonton’s Discovery Business Park. The new space will streamline operations, enhance safety, and create a more efficient environment for employees, partners and customers.
Known nationwide for its expertise in fluid containment products, A.R. Thomson sets a high bar for reliability. Every part of the new facility is designed to meet that standard by improving workflow, supporting growth and reinforcing the company’s commitment to quality.
It’s a complex design build that calls for disciplined planning, clarity at every step, and shared accountability from start to finish.
Understanding operations as part of the planning process
Planning a new design build starts long before ground is broken. The team at Scott Builders begins by mapping how each client’s operation actually functions: how people move, how equipment interacts, and identifying where inefficiencies slow things down.
“The beauty of working with a client like A.R. Thomson is that their operation is unique,” says project lead Justin Bourgeois, a business development manager. “We take the time to learn how everything fits together and stay transparent about what we’re seeing along the way. That shared understanding is what helps us plan effectively and build with confidence.”
That early alignment sets the foundation for every decision that follows. By listening first, the team gains important clarity to build a plan to minimize surprises and produce better outcomes.
Planning beyond the blueprints
The new 163,342 square feet facility will combine manufacturing, warehouse, and office space, but the real complexity lies in how each area is tailored to A.R. Thomson’s specialized workflows and equipment.
“Scott Builders has extensive experience delivering customized industrial facilities,” Bourgeois says. “We’ve focused on occupational readiness and move management from the start, planning how people and equipment will transition into the new space without disrupting operations.”
Coordinating that level of detail takes more than scheduling. It calls for an integrated planning process that connects design decisions with real-world operations, supported by constant communication among designers, engineers, and the A.R. Thomson’s internal teams.
Building efficiency into every stage
Scott Builders applies lean construction principles across its work, and this project puts those methods to use from the start. The team used this approach to simplify processes, shorten timelines, and identify cost savings before breaking ground.
“Following lean principles helped us streamline steps, size, and cost in the overall construction value,” says Bourgeois.
That same discipline extends to scheduling. “We work back from the client’s critical dates and build the schedule from there,” he adds. “We must also be prepared for any delays and know what alternate or contingency plans may need to be used.”
By combining lean construction principles with transparent communication, the team keeps momentum steady and decisions grounded in data, an approach that helps keep everyone aligned from start to finish.
A partnership built on trust and follow-through
Bringing a project of this scale to life takes time and teamwork. Over two years of planning, the Scott Builders and A.R. Thomson teams have worked closely to define priorities, refine designs and set the stage for industrial facility construction.
“At the end of the day, clients want to work with people they trust and can rely on,” Bourgeois says. That confidence builds through consistency: showing up, solving problems and navigating changes and challenges together.
“Nothing ever goes perfectly,” he adds. “We encounter unreliable weather conditions; there are always unforeseen challenges and changes. It’s how you handle them, and how the relationship holds up through the ups and downs, that really matters.”
In Edmonton, that can mean anything from frozen ground slowing excavation to concrete curing challenges, supply delays, or scheduling adjustments during extreme cold. Those are the moments when communication and trust make the difference between a setback and a smooth recovery. All of these can have a critical wrinkle effect on the overall schedule.
In Edmonton, that can mean anything from frozen ground slowing excavation to concrete curing challenges, supply delays, or scheduling adjustments during extreme cold. Each of these can have a critical wrinkle effect on the overall schedule, which is why communication and trust make the difference between a setback and a smooth recovery.
Measuring success beyond the build
For Scott Builders, success isn’t just about meeting schedules or budgets. It’s about safety, quality and relationships that last well beyond project completion.
“When you talk about how we’ll measure success, it does include the major measures: completion time, budget management,” Bourgeois says. “But safety is always at the top of the list. A safe site with no incidents is priority number one. And beyond that, happy clients. We build relationships here, so keeping our clients happy is really important.”
That commitment shows up in how the team works every day: in the details, the follow-through and the way challenges are handled along the way.
From collaboration to construction
With the build now underway, the impact of early construction project collaboration is already taking shape. “Because we spent time aligning early, decisions come faster, communication is stronger, and the team’s working from the same playbook.”
The details of the facility will continue to evolve, but the partnership driving it will remain the same. The A.R. Thomson project shows how modern industrial construction succeeds: through clear communication, respect for operations and a shared commitment to building spaces that work as well as they look.
Ready to plan your next project? Talk to Scott Builders about how collaborative design-build construction practices can help you move your next project from plans to results.
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