ACPAtlantic Construction Podcast// HOSTED BY DANIEL ARSENAULT
HOME / COMPANIES / OSCO Construction Group
// COMPANY DOSSIER

OSCO Construction Group

A privately held, vertically integrated group of construction-sector companies operating across four sectors (Steel, Concrete, Construction, Corporate) — including structural steel fabrication/erection, precast and prestressed concrete, ready-mix concrete and aggregates, reinforcing steel, and construction management/general contracting. Serves industrial, institutional, commercial, infrastructure, and multi-residential markets across Canada and the eastern United States.

📍 Saint John, New Brunswick, CanadaEst. 1955100% first-party verified
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OSCO Construction Group website
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// LESSONS FROM OSCO Construction Group
Embedding MEP into precast panels off-site can eliminate the on-site connection bottleneck that eats schedule gains from prefab.
EP 15 · Brandon Searle
The first two to three modular projects are a learning curve, not a cost saving — operators must budget for that.
EP 15 · Brandon Searle
Modular construction is not categorically cheaper; its competitive advantage is schedule compression and revenue acceleration, especially in commercial hospitality.
EP 15 · Brandon Searle
A Marriott hotel done in 15 months versus 2 years means guests (and revenue) arrive 9 months earlier — quantify schedule benefit in revenue, not just time.
EP 15 · Brandon Searle
GCs hiring modular manufacturers face a 50% deposit exposure with limited bonding protection; this financial risk must be priced into project financing before committing.
EP 15 · Brandon Searle
Using a university research centre as a low-risk test bed for AR/VR and other unproven technologies avoids the $20-30k hardware gamble while generating real operational insight.
EP 15 · Brandon Searle
All lessons ▸
// SELECTED PROJECTS
Avenir Centre
Completed
Arena / sports & entertainment venue (precast concrete) · Moncton, New Brunswick · 2018
Precast supplier (via group company Strescon Limited) — supplied and installed 282 typical bleacher seats and 7 suite bleachers (~52,200 sq ft) plus 33 precast insulated wall panels (~11,330 sq ft)
Venue opened to the public Sept 8, 2018; named CPCI Project of the Month, Oct 2019. Strescon is an OSCO Construction Group company.
✓ verifiedSOURCE ▸
Irving Oil Home Office
Completed
11-storey commercial office tower (structural steel) · Saint John, New Brunswick · 2019
Structural steel (listed as an Ocean Steel & Construction Atlantic Canada project; Ocean Steel is the founding OSCO group company)
Building construction began June 2016 and it opened in fall 2019 (LEED NC Silver). OSCO/Ocean Steel scope confirmed via Ocean Steel's own project page; the precise steel tonnage is not stated publicly.
✓ verifiedSOURCE ▸
Health and Social Innovation Centre (UNB)
In progress
Institutional / post-secondary health building (precast concrete) · UNB Saint John campus, Saint John, New Brunswick · 2026
Precast supplier (listed as a Strescon project; Strescon is an OSCO group company)
~65,000 sq ft building for UNB's Integrated Health Initiative; under construction as of 2026, expected to open in 2026 (freshness-checked Jun 2026 — still in progress, not yet completed). Listed on Strescon's projects page; exact Strescon scope/value not itemized publicly.
✓ verifiedSOURCE ▸
// KEY PEOPLE
JI
John Irving
Chair, OSCO Construction Group
profile ▸
HK
Hans Klohn
President, OSCO Construction Group
profile ▸
// NOTABLE
OSCO Construction Group traces its origins to 1955, when Ocean Steel & Construction Ltd. was founded in Saint John, New Brunswick by K.C. Irving and Hans W. Klohn; the group now employs over 1,000 people.
SOURCE ▸
OSCO is the founding partner of the University of New Brunswick Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) and its OSCO Chair in Off-site Construction, both founded in 2019.
SOURCE ▸
In September 2025, OSCO committed an additional $2.5 million to UNB's OCRC to support continued growth of the off-site construction research program.
SOURCE ▸
OSCO is organized into four operating sectors — Steel, Concrete, Construction, and Corporate — encompassing group companies including Ocean Steel & Construction, Strescon, PreCon, OSCO Rebar, OSCO Aggregates/Concrete, and FCC/Marque Construction & Electrical.
SOURCE ▸
RESEARCHED 2026-06-14 · 10 sources · 100% first-party verified · podscope deep-research