Mass timber manufacturer Element5 has more than doubled the size of St. Thomas plant and plans to add 150 employees as demand grows for wood panels, beams and columns used to build modular homes.

Specializing in the design, fabrication and assembly of contemporary timber structures, Element5 unveiled its $107-million expansion on Wednesday, funded mostly by Element5 and Hasslacher, an Austrian company with 100 years of experience in timber that has an ownership stake in Element5, Element5 president Chris Latour said.

“It really places us as the leading manufacturer in mass timber in North America,” Latour said. “It’s a really big investment and belief in the market, within the Canadian market and within the U.S. market that we supply.”