Once upon a time, in an industry now all but forgotten, building houses and multifamily offsite meant using sticks (lumber), steel (i-beams) and glass (windows) almost exclusively.
Today the offsite and modular industry is becoming so fragmented at times that the industry simply seems more innovative than productive.
The fragmented market of the Offsite Construction Industry encompasses a customer market where no single company or organization has adequate influence to move the industry in a specific direction.
Offsite construction now consists of many companies and organizations that compete within an overall industry, however, none of these small and medium organizations are dominant over the entire market within it.
Today, instead of just using sticks, steel and glass, the offsite factories are using preformed styrofoam panels for walls, hemp for insulation and OSB, 3D concrete house printers, SIPs and even walls made from processed mushrooms.
Each of these methods has advocates that say they are the next big thing in housing but in reality, they are just further fragmenting our industry.
Then you have all those existing and newly formed associations and trade groups each putting on exhibitions, seminars and factory tours wanting to convert the masses over to their particular segment of the industry, again further fragmenting us.
And the part each factory plays in continuing the fragmentation is astounding. Some factory owners are using tons of automation while others are using CNC cutters on large SIP panels to build walls. Others are still building homes like they did decades ago and some of the new ones, like Boxabl, are trying to revolutionize the entire process.
Fragmentation is in full bloom in the offsite industry and it may take years before any factory or process becomes the dominant factor.
When you have a fragmented market, there are various sub-markets that reflect different buyer demands and require different approaches to marketing and advertising to customers who fall within these various fragments.
Impresa is a prime example of one company marketing to many different buyers. Impresa Modular focuses on the consumer while Impresa Franchising is growing a network of builders across the East Coast. Impresa Building Systems recently opened its first modular factory in SC.
As our industry grew to support large numbers of customers, distinct sub-markets started to separate from the parent market. Tiny houses, Auxiliary Dwelling Units, folding houses, 3D printed, and even converted garden sheds started taking small chunks of consumers away from what used to be a very simple industry to understand.
The bottom line is that even though the offsite construction market is growing quickly and becoming a bigger player in the overall construction industry in the US, it is also becoming more fragmented.
Related Articles:
- Will Mushrooms, Algae, Thatch, And Mud Become Common New Construction Materials?
- Hemp Could Be The Next 3D Printed House Material
- Are Bathroom And Kitchen Pods About To Find Their Way Into Modular Production Lines?
Gary Fleisher is Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder. Email at [email protected]
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