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Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor

Steve Alexander, Associate Editor

Bud Wayne, Editorial Executive

Christy Rivers - Editorial Executive

Valerie Austin - Editorial Associate

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STARC Systems – Making Renovation and Construction Projects Safer with their Reusable Modular Walls

Chris Vickers

CEO

STARC Systems

https://starcsystems.com/

Follow STARC Systems

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/starc-systems/

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/@starcsystems1868

Interview conducted by:

Bud Wayne, Editorial Executive

CEOCFO Magazine

Published – September 14, 2026

CEOCFO: Mr. Vickers, would you tell us about STARC Systems?

Mr. Vickers: STARC sold its first product in 2014. The company was started by a construction contractor named Tim Hebert, who does a lot of work in healthcare. One of the requirements in healthcare is around infection control, so when you are doing a renovation, you have to separate the renovation space from the occupied space and then create negative air pressure within the renovation space so that when the door opens, the dust and debris doesn’t come out in the hallway. The reason the hospital is concerned about that is not just the dust and debris, but the dust can pick up pathogens and carry them around and there are hospital-associated infections that can happen to people who weren’t sick in the first place but got something when they were at the hospital. There is a lot of liability there. He had to build a drywall barrier just as if he was going to build a regular wall. He used his best people, it took a long time and it was messy. When he got done with the project, he had to rip it all down and throw it away. He said there had to be a better way, so he came up with a modular telescoping temporary wall that can go up 100 ft. in an hour, and it can be moved around quickly and easily. It only needs an Allen wrench to be put together. Reusable modular walls go up faster, can be reconfigured from project to project, and keep skilled people focused on the work that matters most.

The first one was sound attenuating, so it reduced the noise of the renovation. It looks great, so employees and patients had a better experience being around and maybe didn’t know that there was a renovation going on because of it. Mr. Hebert also knew that he was going to have to do it over and over again. He has a family business and his family has had a crew there at the hospital for the last 22 years. They never go anywhere else. They keep using these walls and moving them around and they are of different widths so they can be clipped together and fit different spaces.

One of the big things we thought about at that point was that as much as healthcare was going to be a regulated industry that needed this product, that it serves the same purpose for any construction environment or renovation environment, whether it is the airport, the data center, or the office. While it doesn’t need to meet the same standard, it still has the ability to go up fast, it is quiet, and it saves money over time, and can be reconfigured. We have continued to build multiple products since 2014. Now, we are in a space of 107,000 sq. ft., which we just built. We have another 20,000-plus square feet available for growth. We are manufacturing in Brunswick, Maine.

CEOCFO: Is your largest market still healthcare?

Mr. Vickers: Healthcare is still our largest market, but about 50% of our business is non-healthcare-related now.

CEOCFO: What is your geographic reach today?

Mr. Vickers: We are in every state in the country and have been for years. We also ship internationally. We have folks in the UK that we have a partnership with. Different people call from different countries, and we send it to them. We sell directly to contractors mostly. We also sell to the facility itself. The hospital might want to buy their own.

We also sell to folks who do rental or restoration. Sunbelt Rentals is one of the largest equipment rental companies in North America. We now have 19 locations with them. They are growing. They have 2,000 locations, so we have a lot of room to go. They are renting the products, and the benefit is that you don’t have the logistics of owning the product, but you still get the value of using it.

For some people, they don’t have a warehouse to put the product in after it is used, or they need more for a project, or the timing is off, so they need a little bit more for now, and they will just buy more. If you buy the product and reuse it, you are actually creating a profit center. And that is what contractors are doing, taking it from place to place. If you are renting, you are getting it quickly, somebody is putting it up for you, and you don’t have to buy it upfront.

CEOCFO: Are the systems easy to put up or do they require a trained installer?

Mr. Vickers: They are very easy to put up. Two of our products are telescoping, so you are unlocking a mechanism in the back with an Allen wrench. You push it up to the ceiling to tighten it, and then you clip the other wall to it. Two workers can install 100 feet of RealWall in about an hour. That is part of the benefit. It could take you two to three days to do all the components of the drywall. This is taking you a fraction of that in a particular day.

CEOCFO: How big is this industry right now?

Mr. Vickers: Currently, this is a subset primarily of renovation, but it also now has applicability in some new construction as well. On the renovation side, the market is about $2 billion. The vast majority of that is drywall or plastic being used.

CEOCFO: What is the competition in your business and what sets you apart?

Mr. Vickers: There are several competitors. Typically, they have fewer products than we do. We have four temporary wall systems, including the first of its kind reusable one-hour fire-rated temporary containment system. Then there are some others. That gives us an advantage.

Our quality and durability are second to none, and a big reason why people use our product, even if it is premium-priced. Because, over time, they are still making money, and they have the look and stability and quality that they expect. We have very few warranty issues, so that shows that is the case.

We have 25 field salespeople who are able to get to locations and help with training, or installation, or working through plans. Our customer service is extremely strong. We have quick lead times, we are able to rush orders when needed, and we have the quantity of product needed for any particular job.

CEOCFO: You will send someone almost anywhere and overseas if necessary?

Mr. Vickers: Yes. The good news is you and your buddy could come in here and I could take five minutes to show you how to put it up, and you two would do it. It is not difficult. However, sometimes people have different situations with the height or slope or something they need to go around. In those situations, it is good to have somebody on-site and work that out with them to make sure it is structurally sound and put up correctly.

CEOCFO: You have the RealWall™, LiteBarrier™, FireblockWall™, StackBarrier™. Would you tell us about your different wall systems?

Mr. Vickers: The first product we have is RealWall™. It is a three-layer, insulated system that is very stable, durable, can reduce sound as it is sound attenuating, and that is the preferred product in healthcare because patient satisfaction is so important. It also helps in airports when they need more security around keeping people from getting into a certain space and so forth. That was our first one and it’s been the lead.

Our second product is called LiteBarrier™, which is a one-layer system and half as heavy as our RealWall. That product is used in lots of ways. Each of the products can support negative air pressure behind the wall. In this case, it is more of a value product that is quicker and easier to put up. It is often used for shorter-duration projects, and its modular design allows it to adapt to different ceiling heights, with extension panels available for taller spaces. That product is also used in lots of different industries. It can meet the needs without sound attenuation.

FireblockWall provides a reusable, one-hour fire-rated separation for projects where code or site conditions require it. It is especially beneficial in high-rises, healthcare and other applications. California has very strict standards in a lot of the big cities, which is where it is used a lot. It is not a telescoping product; it is bigger and feels like a full wall. It sits in a track and can go up to 12 ft. It is reusable and meets that standard.

The latest product we have is our StackBarrier™, where it can go up to 40 ft. It is a product that would get used in large spaces, lobbies, and it is stacked. It alternates how those panels go up, so it creates stability that doesn’t need framing. It is lightweight and is a clean face. You can put vinyl graphics on it. It is reusable, it can be put up quickly, and it’s a product that is more about separation of space than creating a negative air environment. So, someone might put it up when they are doing a renovation on one side of the wall, and not ready to do the rest of the renovation. Then they do the renovation on the other side, and the first side is still able to be used.

CEOCFO: Do STARC doors come with adjustable thresholds?

Mr. Vickers: Yes. STARC doors feature an adjustable threshold and sweep that can accommodate sloped or uneven floors, helping the door fit properly and maintain the containment barrier.

CEOCFO: In hospital environments, how does the installed STARC system help maintain a sealed containment area and negative pressure?

Mr. Vickers: In renovation, we would put a negative air machine or a HEPA-filtered negative air machine that would suck the air out of the room and push it out into another space, usually outside. Our product has gasketing around the whole product, on the top and the bottom. It clips together in a tongue and groove fashion so that it seals. Then it is monitored by a negative air pressure monitor on the wall of our product, and you can see it is meeting the standard. If pressure falls outside the required range, the project team follows the facility’s established infection-control procedures.

CEOCFO: Do you make these walls yourselves?

Mr. Vickers: Yes, we make them all in Maine. We have 107,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space. We have a great workforce here, and we have continued to expand and automate. We also continue to invest in making sure that the business is as good as it can be to support customer needs. We are expanding our product offering, and we expect to continue to grow at the same pace or faster.

CEOCFO: What materials are your walls made from?

Mr. Vickers: Materials vary by product, but aluminum is one of our primary raw materials. Depending on the STARC wall system, panels may also incorporate steel, ABS, reinforced polymer, and insulating core materials. Each system is engineered with the materials best suited to its performance requirements.

CEOCFO: How do you get the word out?

Mr. Vickers: We do it in multiple ways. We are at trade shows for healthcare facilities, data centers, airports, and so forth meeting with the builders in those markets. We have 25 sellers who are out in the field or calling into places where projects are starting. They will do lunch-and-learns, presentations of product or presentations of the concepts. We are doing a lot of online advertising through LinkedIn, and directly on publication websites. We probably have about half our business coming from online, and half coming directly from our sellers.

CEOCFO: Will you be looking for partners or investors?

Mr. Vickers: We are currently owned by North Branch Capital. They are majority owners, so we have had private equity backing here for a while. We are growing at about 30% compounded over the last four years, so our growth is driving us to quickly increase the size of the employee base, the manufacturing space, and we expect that to continue. A big part of that is this expansion into new markets.

We are in retail, life sciences, education, offices, and so forth. In each of those areas, there is education that we need to do to increase sales. We see a big upside to the amount of business that exists in all those markets. We are adding people to do account management as well as additional marketing efforts.  

CEOCFO: In closing, what would you like to say to readers about why they should choose STARC?

Mr. Vickers: In general, modular containment is a much better solution for containing dust and debris and creating the right kind of atmosphere for a renovation to occur. What happens sometimes is that people spend all their money and time on the renovation work, but the space looks less than professional. Then the owners look at that and say the renovation isn’t going so well, or that the customers are bothered by it.

There is a lot of value in replacing traditional methods, like drywall. But there are also benefits to customers and employees in creating the right kind of environment during renovation. STARC has been the leader both in quality and in the variety of options that can meet a wide range of project needs. We are able to deliver that quickly and be there if you need support.

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