Building Better with Steel: Sweelco Is Using Tech and Steel to Revolutionize Construction

Watch video on how Sweelco reimagines construction with Light Steel and Vertex BD 1:28

Sit down and look at the numbers

Sweelco is a pioneering force in the evolving construction industry in Europe. Through the integration of building information modeling (BIM) software and light steel frame (LSF) construction, Sweelco is pioneering a transformative approach towards high-quality, efficiently built, and sustainable buildings in France and beyond. 

“Anybody who sits down and just looks at the numbers pretty quickly comes to a lot of conclusions of what could be done if you find the right process,” Sweelco Co-founder Damien Muller says.

With a focus on sustainability, the firm leverages cutting-edge technology and innovative off-site methods and materials to reimagine traditional approaches to building design and construction. 

Changing the whole construction industry

Co-founders Damien Muller and Pierre Rougeulle started Sweelco in 2021 to create a sustainable construction company that would make a positive impact on the construction industry and the environment. They launched the company in France, their home country, because of the tremendous opportunity they saw to accelerate and improve traditional construction methods as public support grows for sustainability.

“We saw that there was room for Light Steel Frame technology in France. Realizing that with modern software and technology, you can pretty much just completely change the whole construction industry.”

Sweelco specializes in off-site design-construction of sustainable buildings, utilizing advanced digital design and prefabrication techniques. The company integrates these methods to streamline the assembly process, ensuring high efficiency and reduced on-site construction time.

A Mission to Improve the Client Experience and Sustainability

By using advanced BIM software like Vertex BD, Sweelco enhances the construction experience for its clients by making the design process more precise and efficient, ensuring high-quality results from design to production.

Sweelco specializes in Light Steel construction because the material offers unique advantages over concrete masonry and wood, which are common in France. Light Steel structures are much lighter than traditional options and reduce the amount of material used for the foundation by 40%. Light Steel is 60% lighter than wood, with equal resistance, and is noncombustible. LSF framing also yields up to a 10% increase in floorspace over traditional materials.

BIM Software Drives Innovation

Sweelco’s innovative process capitalizes on the benefits of BIM software. The company developed a process that incorporates an integrated design team, RnD, production, assembly, delivery, and installation. VertexBD BIM software plays a crucial role, as Sweelco uses it to further automate the entire process, from design to manufacturing.

Sweelco’s use of digital design in the form of BIM software, cutting-edge methods and materials, and off-site construction allows them to reduce waste and energy consumption tremendously without sacrificing build quality.

While Sweelco is a visionary company that prides itself on innovation and making positive environmental and social impacts, Muller points out that the inherent qualities of Light Steel and the company’s operational excellence have been the most important factors in its growth.

“We attract clients through the efficiency and lightness of the LSF solution. We excel because with the help of Vertex BD and automated technology, we can industrialize the process, ensuring that construction time on-site is minimized since most production is completed in our factory.”