Christine Stump of Southern Structures Inc., with its
manufacturing plant based in Silver Springs Shores, said employment at the
builder of custom modular homes plummeted from about 100 to “single digits” by
2009, after the economic collapse.
Now, Southern Structures employs about 30 workers.
“We’re looking to double that soon,” said Stump, who
operates the company with her husband, Stephen “Jerry” Stump, Southern
Structures’ owner. Jerry Stump’s father, Hugh Stump, started the company in the
1960s in the
in the mid-1970s.
Christine Stump describes the market as “really crazy
again.”
“Most of our work is down in the Keys and everybody is just
really wanting to start committing again,” she said. “We’re seeing an upturn
right now.”
Christine Stump said demand for Southern Structures’
custom-built, modular homes appears to be strongest in coastal areas of
of projects raised above the water on pilings. The homes are built to withstand
winds of 180 mph, she said.
“We do build higher-end homes, but we build for anybody,
truthfully,” she said. “We have floor plans from very simple,
two-bedroom/one-bath homes all the way up to two-story, high-end.”
Southern Structures also builds multi-family homes and
commercial buildings, according to its website.
