Not long ago, Josh Gaglardi got a call from the company that supplies his building firm, Orion Construction, with glass. Input costs were going up, the supplier explained, and there was no choice but to raise prices—by 40%. Gaglardi, like most anyone who builds stuff these days, had begrudgingly grown used to such news. Steel, concrete, rebar and just about everything else is more expensive than it was a couple of years ago. At least, Gaglardi could tell himself, the light industrial projects that are Orion’s specialty don’t require much glass.

Rampant inflation marks a new test for his four-year-old company. Until now, Orion has grown rapidly—more than 12,000% in the past three years—thanks to the niche Gaglardi spotted, not to mention good timing. The next phase of its growth might not be so straightforward.

Based in Langley, B.C., Orion bills itself as a one-stop shop. It helps clients find land for such industrial buildings as warehouses and distribution centres, assists with permitting, spearheads design and manages the construction process. “There wasn’t really anybody doing that as a contractor in our market,” says Gaglardi, 34. “By building out that team and that tailored solution, we’ve had a lot of success.”

As any local prospective homebuyer knows, there’s not a lot of land in the Lower Mainland. That’s particularly vexing for companies that need industrial space, where plots might not even be zoned for such applications. Demand for warehouses and distribution centres is intense owing to the rise of e-commerce and consumers’ expectations for fast delivery, all the more so during the pandemic. But the industrial market in the Greater Vancouver Area is experiencing record-low vacancy rates: A recent report from Colliers pegged it at 0.4%. Rents, meanwhile, surged 20.2% in the past year.

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