One of the highest-profile use cases ever in the additive construction (AC) space occurred a little over a year ago, when Walmart announced that it had partnered with Colorado’s Alquist 3D to print an 8,000 square foot expansion to a Superstore location in Athens, Tennessee.At the time that the news broke, Walmart announced that it was planning over 200 more additions using AC, with the expansions, like the one in Tennessee, designated as storage space for online delivery and pickup orders.Walmart and other as-yet unnamed retailers have now followed up on last year’s news with confirmation that they’ll proceed full-steam ahead with the plan in 2026, with over a dozen such projects slated for next year.
For those upcoming construction jobs, Alquist will once again be the partner, and the company has made some monumental additions to its core business model to support the initiative.First off, Alquist has announced the launch of its first branded construction 3D printers, the A1 and A1X.While there aren’t many details yet on the new systems, the company notes on its website that they include KUKA robotic arms and pump systems made by MAI International, with the A1 designed for “education and entry-level printing” and the A1X intended for on-site jobs.
Further, Alquist is launching what it’s calling “a first of its kind partnership model” with two legacy players in the construction sector that the company formed partnerships with in 2024.Florida’s FMGI, a full-service general contractor, will own and lease the printers that Alquist makes, and those printers will be financed and serviced by Hugg & Hall, a leading dealer of equipment for construction and other industries based in Little Rock.In a press release about Alquist’s landmark deal with Walmart and other retailers on over a dozen construction 3D printing projects across the U.S., the president and CEO of FMGI, Darin Ross, said, “At FMGI, we’re builders first.
What drew us to Alquist was how practical this technology really is, it’s faster to mobilize, cleaner on-site and delivers consistent quality in every print.For us, this partnership is about transforming how large-scale projects actually get done.” The CEO of Alquist, Patrick Callahan, said, “For the first time ever in our industry, we have the right partners in place to scale 3DCP [3D construction printing] at a massive level.For years, 3DCP has been an emerging idea.
Now, it’s a proven solution being deployed by some of the nation’s largest companies.This partnership shows what’s possible when innovation and collaboration align, and it’s only the beginning of what 3D printing will do for commercial construction.” Back in 2023, when I interviewed the founder of Alquist, Zachary Mannheimer (who was also the company’s CEO at the time), I was struck by how he combined a broad-sweeping social vision with a strict attention to the day-to-day nuts and bolts required to operate a successful construction company. “We want to create more companies,” Mannheimer told me, “we want to be collaborative; and we want to commercialize the industry, which is what will be good for everybody involved.
The only way to do that is to train people…” Barely two years later, and Alquist is executing on its vision in a way that I think likely exceeds what even Mannheimer thought would’ve been possible in such a short timeframe.The company’s first project with the refined business model is already scheduled to start this month, at a Walmart in Lamar, Missouri, which is in fact Alquist’s third Walmart project so far (the company also unveiled an expansion in Alabama back in May.) Meanwhile, Alquist continues to train new workers via its partnership with Aims Community College in the company’s hometown of Greeley, Colorado, and its efforts on that front will surely be bolstered by Alquist’s launch of a printer made specifically for training purposes.I think that’s a genius move, and epitomizes the cohesion of the company’s strategy.
3D printed construction is indeed a revolutionary idea, but revolutions come in many forms.Alquist’s most revolutionary move of all may be its evolution into a rather traditional construction enterprise: that’s what it will take for the technology to truly be adopted en masse.Images courtesy of Alquist Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
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