// ON THE RECORD
46North Group of Companies Inc.
Moncton-based building design and drafting firm providing architectural design, custom-home and modular-home plans, drafting, and 3D rendering for residential construction. It operates the consumer-facing brand 46North Design Studio, formerly Cabreira Design Co.
📍 Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada✓ 67% first-party verified
// CLIPS FROM 46North Group of Companies Inc.
“Because they still have radiation, they built up this team and you can only work 15 minutes”
“Anything that you imagine that we use in technology today, he introduced in this building 15, 20 years ago”
“I had a new client come to the office to do an addition, and this builder told them 130 per square foot”
“I got off the bus probably two blocks walking to this company and my leg started shaking”
“The problem with this building, with all the technology that was introduced, the price was over and nobody could afford”
“Today, most houses now they're using these LED lights, each light has a transformer”
“Most companies they fail in the first three years, and it's not because they don't have the service”
“We have the rental crisis, there's no rental units everywhere, so what happened”
“One policy that we have in our office: our job does not finish when you pay the last invoice”
// LESSONS FROM 46North Group of Companies Inc.
Start with a defined Plan B before taking the entrepreneurial leap — knowing your fallback removes the anxiety that clouds judgment.
Secure six months of confirmed revenue before leaving employment — it gives you negotiating room and time to hire without panic.
Leave previous employers with full transparency and a generous notice period — they become your first referral network.
Build a holding-company umbrella from day one so you can add sub-companies, protect family assets, and access better tax brackets as you grow.
When you cannot find local labour, fish globally — posting internationally produced 20 résumés vs zero locally during a labor shortage.
Hire on attitude and team-player mindset first; technical skills can be taught, but toxic culture destroys a small firm fast.
// ON THE RECORD WITH
Atlas Structural Systems Limited
Works with
Cabreira left Atlas with an open door and ongoing informal referral relationship
Texas modular manufacturer
Supplies
Designing manufactured home packages for US production-line client
Peter Pittman
Works with
Boston-area architect; contract collaboration on US projects including 98-unit Massachusetts apartment spec
Ontario developer (unnamed)
Supplies
New client 2023 seeking 10 multi-res buildings/year across Atlantic Canada, 48-260 units each
// SELECTED PROJECTS
McFadden Residence
Status unconfirmedBuilding design
Listed as a named project on the firm's first-party-maintained Houzz profile (46North Design Studio). No completion date published, so status is recorded as unknown rather than completed.
// KEY PEOPLE
AC
// NOTABLE
46North Design Studio was formerly named Cabreira Design Co.; the rebrand is evidenced by the same Facebook page (ID 100063773761624) being used for both names.
SOURCE ▸Founder/CEO Arides Cabreira built the firm in Moncton after relocating from Brazil (São Paulo), per the Atlantic Construction Podcast feature on the firm.
SOURCE ▸Building like this in Atlantic Canada?
Be a guest ▸