Michael Keaton’s Next Project is in Building, Brings 100s of Green Jobs to Pittsburgh
Nexii Building Solutions Inc. (Nexii) has announced a partnership with actor and Pittsburgh native Michael […]
Slated to open in Summer 2022, the Nexii manufacturing plant will benefit from the strong local ties and expertise of co-owner Rippole.
The new Pittsburgh location will be the first built entirely from the company’s proprietary, sustainable concrete alternative, Nexiite. The Nexii composite results in the creation of sustainable buildings that are cost-efficient, use less energy and are resilient in the face of climate change. Nexii products are precision manufactured off-site and rapidly assembled on-site, reducing build times and construction costs.
Keaton will have an ownership stake in the company and plans to play an active role in the new Pittsburgh plant.
Quoted in the press release announced April 22, “Growing up, many of my neighbors worked in Pittsburgh’s famous steel plants; the lore was that a businessman would take an extra white shirt to work because the one he started with would get so dirty from the mills’ polluted air that he’d have to put on a fresh one to come home,” says Keaton, who was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and first began acting in local theatre there. “Nexii’s new plant will create more than 300 green, healthy job opportunities and help revitalize my hometown in a way that helps folks right now while paving the way for future generations.”
Keaton, a self-described “unapologetic environmentalist,” adds, “I’ve always been interested in design and construction, but I only recently learned the game-changing impact the construction industry can have in improving the environment by adopting innovative, lower-carbon techniques. For me, the opportunity to marry job creation with an environmentally sustainable business is incredibly exciting.”
Turning the Steel City, Green
Pittsburgh is a fitting home for Nexii’s newest manufacturing site, as the city continues to evolve from The Steel City into a more equitable Green City that’s home to disruptive technology companies and industry pioneers.
Trinity Commercial Development has developed over 1.5 million square feet of commercial space and has a successful track record of forming public-private partnerships to clean up brownfield sites and return them to productive use. “This partnership with Michael Keaton, Nexii and Pittsburgh is ideal.” says Rippole. “Not only will the new plant provide manufacturing jobs but the environmentally friendly panels being produced will also provide real estate owners and developers, like me, with a cost-competitive building solution that significantly reduces carbon emission. This is a true sustainability-based economic recovery initiative.”
Nexii’s sister plant, about to open in Hazleton, Penn., will produce the Nexiite panels and other materials used to build the Pittsburgh plant. These lightweight panels will be shipped to Pittsburgh and bolted together onsite—a process that cuts build times by an average of 75% and slashes on-site waste, labor costs, and accidents. Nexii’s two Pennsylvania plants will be able to supply eco-friendly construction materials to building and retrofit projects across the East Coast and the Midwest.
Trinity Sustainable Solutions is working with Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA) – the 10-county Pittsburgh region’s economic development organization – to identify sites located within federally designated Opportunity Zones and other under-invested communities where this initiative can be realized and have impact.
PRA President Mark Anthony Thomas remarks, “Nexii’s expansion instantly bolsters our region’s leadership in sustainability and what’s next in manufacturing. Pittsburgh natives Michael Keaton and partner Craig Rippole, following in a long line of Pittsburgh innovators, are building something truly transformative here, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to continue supporting this effort.”
“Together, the building and construction industries account for 39 percent of global emissions; the time to reinvent the way the world builds is now,” says Nexii CEO Stephen Sidwell. “We’re honored to have so many passionate and knowledgeable champions in our corner as we scale Nexii rapidly to meet increased demand for cost-efficient green buildings.”
This news follows exciting developments for Nexii, including the January announcement completion of the first-of-its-kind, sustainably constructed Starbucks, built in just six days, reducing carbon emissions by 30%, with near-zero construction waste; and the addition of advisers including Bill McNabb, former chairman and CEO of Vanguard and Dr. Ronald Sugar, chairman of Uber and board director at Apple.
