The starter home disappeared not because of one bad decision. It resulted from a thousand logical decisions that, over time, led to one unintended outcome. We priced the first-time buyer right out of the system. Bigger Became Better… and More Profitable Over the past few decades, new homes kept getting
The Grande Arbor pairs a new construction approach with a floor plan built around the realities of families sharing a home. I have spent enough years watching factory-built housing evolve to know that the most interesting changes aren’t always the ones you notice walking through the front door. Sometimes, the
An article by Bill Murray I am a huge college football fan. I also played college football and later coached the game at the pee wee and high school levels. After spending more than four decades managing manufacturing operations, I suppose it’s inevitable that I occasionally look at business through
For years, the offsite construction industry has talked about automation as though every factory would eventually resemble an automobile plant. Robots would frame walls, install windows, apply adhesives, move materials, and complete repetitive tasks while a smaller number of highly trained employees monitored the production line. That vision has proven
Everybody dreams of doing something different from what they do today. Everybody. Some dream about starting a business, inventing a better product or solving a problem everyone else has learned to tolerate. In offsite construction, those dreams often begin with a belief that there must be a faster, better, and
A developer once came to me with what seemed like a straightforward assignment. He wanted to build a project using modular construction and needed help finding the right manufacturer. I had spent most of my career in offsite manufacturing, so finding and evaluating manufacturers was familiar territory. I began the
Yesterday, I wrote about creating a daily resilience plan to help an offsite factory spot financial and operational problems before they become a crisis. That plan depends on monitoring cash, backlog, receivables, margins, labor efficiency, and other internal warning signs. But an offsite company can be financially stable today and
Waiting until the last minute to address an offsite construction company’s financial problems is nothing new. Owners and boards often sit back and watch conditions deteriorate because they are unsure what to do. Orders decline, cash becomes tight, suppliers begin calling, and the backlog that once looked reassuring turns out
Sometimes the idea of selling a business doesn’t begin with the owner at all. An M&A firm makes an unexpected call. A potential buyer expresses interest. A competitor sells. Suddenly, something that had always been somewhere off in the distance becomes a real possibility. Often, though, that outside event simply
I have often wondered why offsite construction companies hire consultants, advisors, and marketers who have little or no experience in offsite construction, yet hesitate when someone with decades of industry experience walks through the door. It is one of the strangest contradictions in our industry. Owners and executives will tell
Have you ever driven past a brand-new restaurant, retail store, or service business and immediately thought, “I don’t think they’re going to make it”? You don’t have any financial statements. You haven’t reviewed their business plan. You don’t know how much money they have in the bank or whether investors
Part 3 of the Offsite Innovators Business Transition Series In the first two articles of this series, we looked at what creates value in an offsite manufacturing business and how buyers begin forming opinions long before they review financial statements or step onto the production floor. Now it’s time to
I’m still amazed by a group of highly intelligent people’s ability to collectively make an incredibly stupid decision. Individually, these people may be successful entrepreneurs, engineers, architects, developers, attorneys, technology executives, or investors. They have impressive résumés, successful careers, and enough business experience to know that starting any manufacturing company
Every so often, a factory announcement comes along that makes me stop and read it twice. Cavco Industries’ decision to build a 616,000-square-foot manufactured and modular home factory in El Mirage, Arizona, was one of those announcements. This isn’t an expansion added to the back of an existing plant, nor
The first article in the “In the Beginning” series from Offsite Innovators There are moments in every industry’s history when someone proposes an idea so unconventional that most people dismiss it before it has a chance to prove itself. Looking back years later, those same ideas often seem obvious, even
Innovation has never had an easy time finding acceptance in construction. In fact, many of the ideas we now take for granted were once dismissed as impractical, unnecessary, or simply impossible. Sometimes the resistance comes because a product is unfamiliar. Sometimes it comes because changing long-established methods makes people uncomfortable.
Several weeks ago I had an opportunity to learn about a panelized start-up in Durango, CO. I was immediately struck by their innovative approach to maximizing sustainability through the use of readily available underharvested Ponderosa Pine. Timber Age and their use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) which is composed of sustainable
Walk into almost any offsite factory and ask who’s really in charge of operations, finance, or long-term strategy, and you’ll usually get a confident answer followed by a quiet reality check. The titles are there, the responsibilities are assigned, but the experience behind them is often still developing. That’s not
Photo – Autovol
Fourth in a series on improving the Bottom Line by 1% and more (For a list of all the articles, go to the end) I’ve talked to more than a few factory owners over the years who all say the same thing in slightly different ways. Sales are steady. Backlogs look decent.
Every month in the offsite construction world, I hear about another promising new idea. Someone has developed an app that will streamline scheduling, a machine that promises faster panel production, or a digital tool that claims to simplify design coordination between factories and builders. The process almost always starts the
The View From My Windshield For years, I’ve driven past empty malls, dark office towers, and logistics buildings that look like they’re waiting for something to happen. In many cities, they sit quietly on valuable land while local leaders hold meetings about the housing shortage. It’s almost surreal. On one
Ribal Zebian
I often hear about someone—or some company—that has a new idea to improve, restart, or outright fix a problem in construction. Every time I hear that word, new, I can’t help but smile. Not because I’m cynical (well, not entirely), but because “new” has become one of the most overused
The starter home disappeared not because of one bad decision. It resulted from a thousand logical decisions that, over time, led to one unintended outcome.
The Grande Arbor pairs a new construction approach with a floor plan built around the realities of families sharing a home. I have spent enough
An article by Bill Murray I am a huge college football fan. I also played college football and later coached the game at the pee
For years, the offsite construction industry has talked about automation as though every factory would eventually resemble an automobile plant. Robots would frame walls, install
Everybody dreams of doing something different from what they do today. Everybody. Some dream about starting a business, inventing a better product or solving a
A developer once came to me with what seemed like a straightforward assignment. He wanted to build a project using modular construction and needed help
Yesterday, I wrote about creating a daily resilience plan to help an offsite factory spot financial and operational problems before they become a crisis. That
Waiting until the last minute to address an offsite construction company’s financial problems is nothing new. Owners and boards often sit back and watch conditions
Sometimes the idea of selling a business doesn’t begin with the owner at all. An M&A firm makes an unexpected call. A potential buyer expresses
I have often wondered why offsite construction companies hire consultants, advisors, and marketers who have little or no experience in offsite construction, yet hesitate when
Have you ever driven past a brand-new restaurant, retail store, or service business and immediately thought, “I don’t think they’re going to make it”? You
Part 3 of the Offsite Innovators Business Transition Series In the first two articles of this series, we looked at what creates value in an
I’m still amazed by a group of highly intelligent people’s ability to collectively make an incredibly stupid decision. Individually, these people may be successful entrepreneurs,
Every so often, a factory announcement comes along that makes me stop and read it twice. Cavco Industries’ decision to build a 616,000-square-foot manufactured and
The first article in the “In the Beginning” series from Offsite Innovators There are moments in every industry’s history when someone proposes an idea so
Innovation has never had an easy time finding acceptance in construction. In fact, many of the ideas we now take for granted were once dismissed
Several weeks ago I had an opportunity to learn about a panelized start-up in Durango, CO. I was immediately struck by their innovative approach to
Walk into almost any offsite factory and ask who’s really in charge of operations, finance, or long-term strategy, and you’ll usually get a confident answer
Photo – Autovol
Fourth in a series on improving the Bottom Line by 1% and more (For a list of all the articles, go to the end) I’ve talked to
Every month in the offsite construction world, I hear about another promising new idea. Someone has developed an app that will streamline scheduling, a machine
The View From My Windshield For years, I’ve driven past empty malls, dark office towers, and logistics buildings that look like they’re waiting for something
Ribal Zebian
I often hear about someone—or some company—that has a new idea to improve, restart, or outright fix a problem in construction. Every time I hear