East Elgin Concrete Forming Warehouse

The East Elgin Concrete Forming warehouse, located at 2 Elm Street in Tillsonburg, Ontario, is a 20,480-square-foot facility built using tilt-up construction. Designed to support the company’s continued growth, the building brings operations together under one roof while delivering durability, energy efficiency, and long-term low maintenance.

For Tyson, owner of East Elgin Concrete Forming, the goal was to create a building that looked professional, performed well through Ontario’s changing seasons, and was easy to clean and maintain. Tilt-up construction was selected for its durable concrete wall system, finished interior surface, and ability to provide strong thermal performance.

“In many buildings, insulation is exposed or hanging inside. We do a lot of washing and cleanup in our buildings, so having a finished interior was important.”

The project included both insulated and non-insulated tilt-up concrete panels, with approximately 1,670 square metres of exterior panel area. A total of 271 cubic metres of concrete was used, with the tallest panel reaching 8,059 mm, or 26.4 feet. The largest panel required 14.03 cubic metres of concrete.

Before construction began, the team carefully coordinated floor saw cuts with slab joints to support proper panel layout and performance. Despite a sloped floor and trench drain system, the casting slab was successfully used for panel production.

Construction began on May 22. Exterior panels were poured by June 11, and structural pours began on June 25. Panel lifting started on July 9 and was completed in three days. The roof was installed by July 23, allowing the building to be fully enclosed within two weeks of lifting beginning.

Site conditions required careful planning throughout the lifting process. Overhead power lines affected both panel forming and crane operations, requiring the crane to be dismantled and repositioned multiple times. Additional care was also taken to avoid damage to the adjacent parking lot. A crane equipped with a Sunshine Bar was used to support safe and controlled panel placement.

The project also incorporated several construction efficiencies. Steel connection embeds were cast directly into the panels before lifting, helping accelerate steel erection once the panels were in place. Insulation was pre-laid out and pre-cut before panel pours, reducing material waste, installation time, and cost.

Architectural features were also built into the project, including custom building numbers, black accent details, a prominent Tilt Wall logo, and a front entrance section with a concrete roof panel. The most complex panel was the front façade panel, which combined large openings with integrated branding elements.

Today, the warehouse is performing as intended. The building stays cool in the summer, retains heat well in the winter, provides a durable and washable interior surface, and requires very little ongoing maintenance. Tyson estimates the facility is approximately 30% more efficient than another similar 20,000-square-foot building the company owns.

Looking back, Tyson says the completed warehouse exceeded his expectations.

“I would never build that building differently.”