Retail giant Walmart has expanded a distribution center in Alabama by using a robotic three-dimensional printing system to build the new walls from concrete, the company said Thursday.
The project marked the second time that Walmart has teamed with Colorado-based contractor Alquist on a 3D Concrete Print (3DCP) construction project, following the construction of an 8,000 square-foot addition with 19’4” high walls at a Walmart Supercenter in Athens, Tennessee.
In this latest job at a Walmart “Supercenter” in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, Alquist completed the walls supporting the 5,000-square-foot pickup expansion in one week. According to the partners, that approach addresses two of the construction industry’s biggest challenges: “takes too long” and “costs too much.”
To complete the job, a five-person Alquist team used two 3DCP systems to print the 16-foot-high walls on the Owens Cross Roads expansion in just 75 hours during seven operational days, which is significantly faster than traditional building methods, the firm said.
“In a commercial construction world that pays so much attention to project timelines and costs, our work with Walmart shows that 3D printing isn’t just a novelty – it’s an innovation ready to scale,” Patrick Callahan, CEO, Alquist 3D, said in a release. “With this second project, we’re demonstrating how retail expansions can be faster, more cost-effective, and less wasteful, paving the way for broader adoption in large-scale builds.”
