Fortress Building Products: where EPDs could unlock specs
Fortress plays in outdoor metals: steel deck framing, steel and aluminum railing, fencing, pergolas, plus lighting accessories. That is several product families with dozens of SKUs. For project teams chasing carbon targets or LEED v5 readiness, the open question is simple: do these products come with credible, product‑specific EPDs, and if not, what gets swapped when a bid requires them?
Who Fortress is, and what they sell
Fortress Building Products focuses on metals for outdoor spaces. The current lineup centers on Evolution steel deck framing and stairs, Fe26 steel railing, Al13 aluminum railing options, Athens aluminum and VERSAI ornamental steel fencing, prefabricated steel pergolas, and lighting accessories.
Fortress exited composite decking by selling that subsidiary to Eva‑Last Americas in 2023, which sharpened the portfolio around metal systems across residential, commercial and security markets. Their sustainability messaging lives under Fortify the Future, which is worth a look for signals on materials and operations (Sustainability).
Product range, at a glance
Across railing, fencing, framing, pergolas, and lighting, Fortress appears to cover four to five major product categories with dozens of SKUs. That breadth gives specifiers multiple surfaces to evaluate for carbon and transparency. It also means a single missing document can ripple across many bids.
EPD coverage today
As of December 20, 2025, we could not locate product‑specific, third‑party verified EPDs publicly available for Fortress’s core metal systems. If such EPDs exist privately with customers or distributors, they are not visible in the usual public places program operators and design teams check. That creates friction on projects that require EPDs for material credits or internal embodied‑carbon screens.
Why that matters commercially
When a project team cannot find a brand’s EPD, they must plug in conservative defaults. Those defaults act like a weight vest in the spec race. Products that ship with current, verified EPDs often remain in contention longer, while others get value‑engineered out before price is ever discussed. The cost of creating an EPD is frequently earned back with even one mid‑sized win.
Likely head‑to‑head competitors on jobs
Railing and fencing: Westbury by Digger Specialties, Ultralox, Trex and TimberTech railing lines, plus regional fabricators for Division 05 metalwork. Steel deck framing has fewer direct peers, but structural steel and cold‑formed framing suppliers can become alternates in commercial scopes. In high‑security fencing, Ameristar, Betafence and similar players show up frequently.
Where competitors have EPD traction
Two patterns show up on specs. First, cold‑formed steel framing leaders publish multiple EPDs, and some now market low‑embodied‑carbon lines backed by verified comparisons showing about 30 percent lower GWP versus their baselines, which counts toward LEED optimization in many scopes (ClarkDietrich, 2024) (ClarkDietrich, 2024). Second, aluminum systems sometimes lean on industry‑wide EPDs for extrusions, updated in 2022 and maintained by the Aluminum Extruders Council, which specifiers accept when product‑specific data is missing in Division 05 or 08 packages (AEC, 2023) (AEC, 2023).
Neither is a drop‑in replacement for Fortress in every scenario, but they do demonstrate how rival bids can check the EPD box fast.
A likely best‑seller without an EPD
Fe26 steel railing is frequently promoted and widely stocked in residential and light commercial channels. Without a published product‑specific EPD, teams on EPD‑mandated projects may pivot to an aluminum system supported by an industry‑wide extrusion EPD or to a fabricated steel alternative tied to a supplier with portfolio EPDs. That detour can quietly cost share and spec. It’s avoidable.
What to publish first, and how
Start where volume meets visibility. For Fortress that is steel deck framing and Fe26 steel railing, then Al13 aluminum railing. A smart plan:
- Pick the right PCRs for steel and aluminum components, matching the competitor landscape so numbers are comparable.
- Build one plant‑specific EPD per high‑runner line before expanding to variants. Keep references and bill‑of‑materials traceable so annual updates do not restart from zero.
- Coordinate with downstream partners on coatings, galvanizing and packaging data. That is where surprises hide, and where real improvements are often found.
We have seen that the hardest part is not modeling. It is collecting clean, auditable inputs across operations without stealing time from product and manufacturing teams. A great LCA partner will handle the grunt work and keep timelines short while protecting data integrity.
Competitive upside beyond one credit
LEED v5 workstreams continue to emphasize product‑specific declarations and lower embodied carbon options in material selections. Owners are also adding EPD requirements to corporate standards and portfolio playbooks, independent of rating systems. In other words, EPDs now help unlock preferred‑vendor lists and master specs, not just points.
Bottom line
Fortress has a focused metals portfolio with real spec potential, but public EPD coverage appears thin today. Publishing product‑specific EPDs for steel framing and Fe26 railing first, followed by Al13 aluminum railing, would reduce friction where it counts and help hold spec against competitors leveraging portfolio or industry‑wide EPDs. The sooner that paper trail is live, the less often bids get re‑routed before anyone talks performance or price. That is the simple, definatley attainable win.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fortress Building Products publish product‑specific EPDs for its metal railing, fencing, framing or pergolas?
As of December 20, 2025, we could not locate public, third‑party verified EPDs for those product lines. If any exist privately, they are not visible in common public libraries used by specifiers.
Which Fortress products should prioritize EPDs to maximize commercial impact?
Start with Evolution steel deck framing and Fe26 steel railing, then Al13 aluminum railing. These lines see broad use and appear most frequently in distribution and project literature.
Can an industry‑wide EPD help when a brand lacks a product‑specific one?
Sometimes. Aluminum systems may lean on the Aluminum Extruders Council’s industry‑wide extrusion EPDs to meet transparency requirements in some specs (AEC, 2023). Product‑specific EPDs still carry more weight with owners and LEED optimization.
Which competitors are most likely to show up on the same bids with EPDs?
For framing, cold‑formed steel suppliers with portfolio and LEC EPDs are common examples in commercial scopes, such as ClarkDietrich, whose LEC line shows about 30% lower GWP than its baseline in a verified comparison (ClarkDietrich, 2024). For aluminum railing, teams may rely on industry‑wide extrusion EPDs where brand‑level EPDs are not available (AEC, 2023).
Where can I learn about Fortress’s sustainability stance?
See their Fortify the Future page for materials and operations themes (Sustainability).
About the Author
With a passion for sustainability and a love for complex data, Toby helps manufacturers efficiently collect data from across their organization and get their EPDs done right. He’s especially interested in how AI can support human expertise, helping R&D and factory teams work faster, smarter, and with less friction.
