How FBi Buildings continues to get its customers’ projects off the ground with precision and unmatched quality
From farm shops and horse barns to suburban garages and multipurpose buildings, FBi Buildings’ custom post frame constructions are designed to meet customers’ specific needs. Founded in 1958, on faith, family, and innovation, the company is in its third generation of family-run operations. This focus on family values weaves through the company culture, making the business stand out among more corporate competitors.
Culture is a key driver in any organization and FBi Buildings strives to foster a deeper purpose; to support its people and the communities in which it operates. Integrity and trust are crucial to the company and the leadership team strives to instil those core values throughout the company.
“In 2018, we made a strategic internal shift within the company,” begins Angie Dobson, Director of Marketing. “We promoted from within and focused on different approaches that would not only help the market but help the growth of the company.”
From humble beginnings based in the founder’s home to over 200 employees today, FBi Buildings continues to champion its deeper purpose while delivering the best solutions to help its customers grow. Since its inception, FBi Buildings has been helping farmers, and agribusiness owners determine their farm building needs for current and future growth. It’s since gone on to branch out into other market segments, offering custom post frame buildings to suit a wide range of industry applications.
One of the benefits of using post frame construction is its design flexibility. FBi Buildings’ constructions use wood frames with widely spaced columns, enabling windows, doors, and even interior walls to be positioned virtually anywhere to maximize space. While quick and energy efficient to construct, curb appeal is still very much front and center of the design. For commercial applications in particular, aesthetics is vital to the success of the building, and FBi Buildings offers multiple attractive exterior features and finishes to increase foot traffic.
“There are some misconceptions surrounding post frame construction,” Angie continues, “but we’re trying to educate people to understand the versatility of this construction method. Post frame construction tends to cost less than other methods, due in large part to more efficient use of materials and labor, but the opportunities for customization are endless. If a customer wants to match the existing buildings on their property, we can even do that,” she elaborates.
“It’s important for us to be able to pivot to customer demand. Last summer, our region experienced considerable drought. Consequently, the agricultural side of our market slowed down. On the other hand, the suburban side picked up. From garages and tool sheds to hobby shops, we’re helping homeowners add value to their property as well as housing and protecting the things that bring them joy. Interest rates are very high currently, so there’s a pent-up demand from people who want to construct buildings but haven’t moved forward. While many customers may be holding back, the demand is still there, so, we need to figure out how we can help those people and navigate the challenges.”
To meet demand for its products, FBi Buildings recently completed the construction of a new truss plant at its Indiana headquarters to manufacture larger trusses. “We currently operate in eight states, and primarily in the Midwest, but we do have plans in place for further expansion. To deliver longer term plans our leadership team considered what would be needed further down the line to facilitate that expansion, hence, our new plant and improvements to the flow of operations.”
Game changing solution
Another recent milestone is 
FBi Buildings’ proprietary technology, QLYFT; the system that is currently transforming the post frame construction industry. The QLYFT Building System allows projects to be built on the ground and then raised to the desired height. This innovative solution achieves unmatched quality, increased safety, and fewer delays on construction schedules.
“After a certain age, traditional methods of construction are harder on the body, so in terms of enhanced safety, which is of paramount importance, the QLYFT system is game changing. Our crews are critical to our business, so we want to make the process as safe as possible for them. Likewise, this method has enhanced quality control exponentially,” she enthuses.
“We tend to construct the shell of a building only, but because of our robust relationships and networks, we’re able to recommend local contractors to work on the interior fit out and other aspects of the build. Our salespeople are also able to offer extensive advice surrounding permitting. Alongside this expertise, we partner with finance organizations to assist customers. A recent project for us is building our IT team to help improve our systems and processes.”
Brand awareness
Looking to the future, Angie shares that 2024 was always going to be a trickier year to navigate. “This is an election year for us, and with that comes a certain set of market behaviors. People tend to hold off making investment decisions until the outcome of the election is known. That said, we recently expanded into Missouri and Kentucky, so we’ll be focusing on our growth in these states. We’re well known in Indiana and Illinois because of how long we’ve been established. So, we need to generate greater brand awareness further afield. We recently acquired two drop lot locations outside of Indiana with the aim of eventually storing materials and trailers. These strategically located sites will hopefully begin to enhance logistics, which will, in turn, have a positive impact on the delivery costs of some of our projects.
“Do right, on time, with excellence; these core values will, of course, continue to be championed throughout our organization as we move forward with our expansion plans and future goals,” Angie concludes.