I’ve always believed a modular factory should start with a clear understanding of the people it serves. Before discussing equipment, production schedules or expansion plans, somebody needs to answer a basic question: What will this factory do for its customers that makes building it worthwhile?
A new operation in Arviat, Nunavut, offers an interesting answer.
According to Don Procter’s reporting in ConstructConnect’s Journal of Commerce, Inuit-owned Sakku Innovative Building Solutions has opened a 65,000-square-foot modular housing factory, developed with Quebec’s RG Solution. Production is expected to reach 40 homes annually over an 18-month ramp-up. The initial order includes nine three-bedroom homes for the Kivalliq Inuit Association.
Start With the People Who Will Live There
Community input helped shape the homes. Features include generous gathering spaces and cold porches that provide storage and a buffer from outdoor temperatures. The building envelope and ventilation are designed for northern conditions.
This sixplex in Rankin Inlet was built as a pilot project by Sakku Innovative Building Solutions, a joint venture between Sakku and Quebec-based modular manufacturer R.G. Solutiona.
That part caught my attention. Our industry spends considerable time explaining how efficiently we can manufacture a house. We should spend just as much time understanding how a family will use it. A repeatable floor plan has more value when it repeats something the customer actually needs.
Opening the Doors Is Only the Beginning
The factory currently employs 15 local people, with 40 full-time positions anticipated at peak production. Shipping remains a challenge: serving other communities will involve moving modules by trailer, barge, and ship. Shipping costs were still being evaluated when the story was reported.
For factory owners reading this, the lesson is familiar. Completing a module is one milestone in delivering a home. Transportation, installation, and the receiving site’s readiness must all fit the production plan. A beautifully finished house waiting for its next move still requires somebody’s time, space and money.
Gary’s Observation
Gary Fleisher, [email protected]
What I find encouraging is the connection between local ownership, local employment and homes designed around local needs. That gives this factory a purpose people can understand.
Now comes the work every factory faces: training employees, maintaining quality and turning early orders into dependable production. I’ll be interested in watching that progress. Our industry benefits when a new operation demonstrates how manufacturing can serve the particular community around it.
