Island Structural Systems Inc. (ISSI), a truss plant, which opened in Kensington, P.E.I., in January 2024, is adding a second production line.
GM and owner Matthew Bowness said the idea for opening ISSI was based on truss shortages in the province. “The lead times (for builders) could be eight to 12 weeks even before Covid.” It got worse when the Covid boom in homebuilding hit. Then, the island was facing up to six month waits for trusses. Not an acceptable situation, Bowness added.
He gathered investors together, and was helped in his fundraising by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACEO). It put a “repayable contribution” of $2 million into the mix.
This is only ISSI’s second year of business. Yet the roof and floor truss manufacturer is already adding a second production line, something that the business plan didn’t predict until year five.
This is a truly independent truss plant. It sells to every channel it can: building supply dealers, homebuilders, farm building contractors, commercial clients, plus homeowners building their own homes.
The 25,000 square foot facility is state-of-the-art, with high-tech Simpson Strong-Tie equipment that builds a lot of trusses at a high rate of speed.
P.E.I. is now self-sufficient on trusses. Bowness said he doesn’t have to search farther afield, for example to New Brunswick, for customers. ISSI opened with 18 employees in January 2024 and now, with the new production line coming on-stream in February, that will increase to 32 employees.
“It’s been a great first year,” Bowness said. He points out that the homebuilding future for Canada’s smallest province is bright. With a 14.1 percent five-year growth rate, P.E.I. led all Canadian provinces and territories in population growth over the last five years.
