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| The modular building sector has mushroomed into a $2.4 billion industry that now employs an estimated 18,000 people in Pennsylvania. |
"Modular housing" often conjures images of unattractive, hastily built structures. But the industry has evolved dramatically in the past few decades—due in large part to efforts by organizations like the Factory Built Housing Center (FBHC) at the Pennsylvania College of Technology.
Far from being a low-end option, today modular housing methods are used in spacious, multilevel homes with soaring interior rooms, multiple roof lines, and sophisticated design elements—virtually indistinguishable from their pricier custom-built counterparts. Interiors include high-end features such as column-lined arched doorways, built-in bookcases and granite kitchen countertops. Finished modular houses have sold for as much as $700,000.
FBHC provides training, consulting, research, product development and technology transfer services for an industry that includes modular, manufactured, panelized and log homes. As modular housing has evolved over the past few decades, it has in turn transformed the entire construction industry. The modular building sector has mushroomed into a $2.4 billion industry that now employs an estimated 18,000 people in Pennsylvania.
"Our outreach efforts to promote and redefine the industry represent our greatest success," says Dennis Gilbert, who oversees the Williamsport, Pa.-based center. "We're well positioned to contribute to the growth of the industry. It's really a one-of-a-kind service."
Recognizing the job-creation potential of FBHC, BFTP will invest $200,000 in the institute over the next three years. Gilbert says that the development of a relationship between FBHC and BFTP was "a natural."
“We're an educational institution and we've worked directly with the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center at Penn State, so it was a good fit with BFTP from the start.”
—Dennis Gilbert, Factory built housing center
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"We're an educational institution, and we've worked directly with the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center at Penn State, so it was a good fit with BFTP from the start," says Gilbert, who developed the original grant proposal and has worked with BFTP since the center's inception in 2004.
In addition to the seed money, BFTP has been instrumental in providing guidance and expertise. "At every phase, we've outlined our goals and objectives, and BFTP has really helped us refine them," Gilbert says.
With a solid foundation in place, FBHC is poised to meet the challenges of a growing market base as factory-built housing is viewed more favorably by consumers.
"A factory-built modular home is often better than one constructed on-site for a number of different reasons," says Gilbert. "It's well-engineered, designed and refined right in the factory, and constructed under optimal conditions with none of the variances that impact the typical 'stick-built' homes."
As consumers become more educated on the advantages of this construction option, manufacturers are responding with more evolved interpretations. Industry trends are moving toward mobile luxury suites for sporting events that include all the comforts of home, and high-end retirement communities that offer luxury and convenience. Increasingly, modular construction principles are also applied to the creation of schools, dormitories, apartment houses and hotels, which lays the groundwork for even broader consumer acceptance.
From the March/April 2006 issue |
