Walmart Continues to Expand 3D-Printed Building Efforts

After two initial projects using the technology, the retail giant said it has entered into a partnership to do more projects.

Walmart said it will be working with Alquist, a leading 3D printing builder, to create as many as a dozen new structures going forward, indicating the success of its first two projects. The two companies first partnered in 2024 to print a nearly 8,000-square-foot, 20-foot-high to a store in Athens, TN. It was Walmart’s first use of the technology and it was followed by a second project, a 5,000-square-foot addition to the Walmart supercenter in Owens Crossroads, AL.

Now Alquist, based in Greeley, CO, said it has begun construction of a third structure at a Walmart in Lamar, MO. It said working with Walmart and other commercial retailers on a “landmark scale,” it expects to construct more than a dozen structures going forward, “marking the largest-scale deployment of 3D-printed commercial building technology in U.S. history.”

According to a CNBC report on the partnership, “Alquist said it has launched a ‘first of its kind’ partnership model with construction and equipment rental dealer Hugg & Hall and full-service general contractor FMGI. Under the model, FMGI owns and will lease Alquist A1X printers, financed and serviced by Hugg & Hall, to execute large-scale 3D-printed projects nationwide.

The Walmart building in Lamar will be the first project under the new model and represents the latest effort on the alternative to traditional building methods, potentially impacting the wood products industry.

Image: Alquist

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