Ben Davis, co-founder of OpBox, poses with one of his modular structures. (photo/OpBox)
Ben Davis, co-founder of OpBox, poses with the beginnings of one of his company’s modular structures. (photo/OpBox)

OpBox, a Nobleboro-based startup that designs and constructs modular, eco-friendly “pop-up” spaces for shops and offices, has raised $500,000 from multiple sources.

The investment consists of a $250,000 Series A equity raise by private investors and a Community Development Block Grant.

Following the capital raise, the company hired eight new employees, bringing its total to ten. The company is using the fresh capital to upgrade its new manufacturing space and support its growing operations.

OpBox was started in 2018 by Emily and Ben Davis, a brother-sister duo of entrepreneurs from Nobleboro. The company grew out of their previous business, Portland Container Company, when customers kept asking for windows to be added to their storage units made from recycled shipping containers.

About a year ago, on a business development trip to Canada, the Davis’ discovered an interesting new eco-friendly building panel. OpBox has since partnered with JD Composites of Nova Scotia, and manufactures its portable OpBoxes in Nobleboro out of the company’s 100% Recycled PET Plastic panels. These panels are made entirely from bottles coming out of oceans and landfills, said Davis.

“Building our OpBoxes out of the recycled composite foam panels makes them much better insulated than a standard building,” said Davis. “The walls, floor, and roof are chemically bonded, creating a stronger and more weather resistant structure. An OpBox is an asset that is going to last and hold its value beyond its initial use.”

You will be able to spot OpBoxes around Portland this summer. The company is currently working on a beer garden for Bar Harbor Lobster Company that will be operating on Commercial Street. It is also building a pop-up unit for the Westin Hotel. Davis is especially excited about their new project with Maine Peoples Housing Coalition. OpBox will soon launch Maine’s first mobile hygiene unit to serve Portland’s unhoused population. The hygiene unit will have two bays of showers and bathrooms and can hook up to a fire hydrant and available city utilities.

The U.S. modular construction business has doubled in size to $8 billion over the last five years, according to the Modular Building Institute, a non-profit trade association serving modular construction.

Modular construction is a huge leap forward in terms of environmental sustainability. The U.K. Waste & Resources Action Program group (WRAP) reports up to a 90% reduction in materials can be achieved through the use of modular construction. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates construction and demolition of traditional structures generates 600 million tonsof debris every year.

OpBox brings together the use of responsible building materials, composite construction techniques and an eco-friendly design to create a lasting, reusable, mobile structure. According to Davis, an exciting next step for the company is to expand into mobile disaster relief and hurricane support units.  Davis boasted that their composite panels maxed out the hurricane rating test at winds speeds of 320 miles per hour.