Tedd Benson, the Brain behind Bensonwood and now Unity Homes in New Hampshire looks to be on the same high road that Blu Homes once traveled….World Domination. At least in the modular housing industry.
Just like the founders of Blu Homes tried and failed to bring folding homes to every neighborhood in the US, Tedd and his minions are telling everyone that will listen that he has the key to doing just that. A chicken in every pot and a Unity Home in every neighborhood.
Just over two years ago I reported that Tedd Benson, the evil cousin Michelle Kaufmann, wrote an article slamming modular housing. He called modular home builders “Twinkies”, for God sake.
Now he’s actually using the same methods the rest of us use and describes his homes as cost-effective modular homes. WHAT?!!! He’s also is trying to bring in investors and ‘partner builders’ from across the US to try and do what Blu Homes has failed to do.
But just like Blu Homes found that they were inefficient and probably unprofitable selling their homes anywhere but northern California, Tedd may find that staying in the New England area and becoming a ‘Twinkie’ is his best option.
Sorry Tedd but that just my humble opinion.
The excerpt below is from the Nov 12th article in New Hampsphire Business Review. A link to the entire article is at the bottom of the page.
Unlike most homebuilders, Bensonwood builds houses in sections, in a warehouse in Walpole, that are reassembled on site. Most of his career, Benson and his team have been fine-tuning building techniques and efficiency under Bensonwood.
In 2012, he founded Unity Homes to focus on the green, cost-effective modular homes business that Benson is working to expand. Both Unity and Bensonwood homes are built airtight, energy-efficient and with air quality controls.
“As we, over the years, took on more of the building – not just the frame but wall sections and roof sections and floor sections – we really became good at the logistics and the planning and the organization it takes to make really high quality building elements,” he says.
Most Unity Homes have been built in New Hampshire and Vermont, but Benson said one was just assembled in Virginia. (Assembly takes about 30 working days.)
“We’re getting inquiries from Nebraska and California and Washington State, and so the idea is taking off,” says Benson. “But the big concept for Unity is we plan to distribute production throughout the United States. So eventually we want Unity to be a national company, and to make our product nationally available.”
Benson is currently talking to partner builders in Colorado, Kansas City, Texas and in the mid-Atlantic that will be trained on Unity Homes’ techniques and overseen by a member of Unity Homes’ team.
“We’re certain [national expansion] is going to happen, but it will be one piece at a time, as we gather the investors we need,” says Benson.
Closed-panelingBecause building elements are standardized, it makes it efficient to construct the home. But clients can customize a home by choosing a floor plan and interior levels of customization, such as fixtures.
Unity Homes applies its building practicality to shipping as well.
Most homes are constructed with open-panel parts, meaning wiring and insulation are installed on site.
“The closed-paneling which we have – the insulation is there, the windows are in, the air barrier is in place, the moisture barrier is in place, the finishes are on, the wiring is in there, the plumbing is in there,” Benson explains. “Closed-panel production allows us to flat pack when we ship, and that’s important, so we get a lot of home on the truck, and therefore we can ship further cost effectively than for instance modular builders can.” Modular homes, shipped as whole homes or in halves, can’t travel far.
“We’ll be unique in our closed-panel offering, and we’ll be one of the few that will be a nationally available homebuilder,” he says.
CLICK HERE to read the entire article.
