As many have predicted over the past 5 years, modular construction for everything from small affordable homes to huge hotels and housing projects continues to add believers to its ranks.
The latest is Sioux Falls-based Hegg, known for development and construction, that is adding a modular construction division, beginning with a 127,000-square-foot facility in Brandon.
“Construction, as it stands today, is a highly commoditized business, and we felt like this was a component we could add to our toolbox, so to speak, that would differentiate ourselves a little bit and give us a strategic advantage in the workforce, and we felt the timing was right,” Hegg Cos. president Paul Hegg said.
“We’re not inventing something. We’re just enhancing a methodology that works.”
In the case of a hotel, for instance, a modular approach includes building two hotel rooms with part of a hallway and then delivering it essentially in a large box to the building site.
“Within the box, you’ve got two completed hotel rooms, and I mean wallpaper on, carpet on the floor, a bed, a TV laying on the bed so it ships nicely, toilet fixtures in — I’m talking finished,” said Wade Behm, president of Hegg Construction.
“It’s really, really cool. Marriott and Hilton in particular have modular programs and are promoting this as the best deployment method for hospitality going forward. This is not new; it’s just not really prevalent in our area yet, but with all the labor woes and material acquisition, it’s time.”
For a hotel, the Hegg facility could complete four so-called mods per day, so the pieces for a typical limited-service hotel would be ready in 25 to 30 working days.
“Once that is delivered to a site, they can take that hotel from a foundation and site work to a fully placed vertical structure in four to five days,” said Jared Vilhauer, vice president of development and finance for Hegg Cos.
The 16-acre site that will be used for manufacturing and storing the mods will be at the Encore Park development, which Hegg is developing on the west edge of Brandon according to the Sioux Falls Business article
The building will include two full lanes of production and the capability of storing 240 mods.
These are not heavily automated facilities, Behm said. The Hegg factory calls for about 125 employees.
“It’s a way better environment, and that’s something we’re focused on in this facility,” he said. “We want to create an environment that is safe, where you’re working on your tasks and ergonomics is key. So you’re working at the tabletop level and having lifts and flat floors, a clean environment, all those things. The chaos of a job site is what causes problems.”
The controlled environment leads to a better working experience and a better final product, Hegg said.
“And from the standpoint of speed to market … if I can open in nine months versus 12, that’s an advantage.”
The building is expected to begin production in November. Hegg Cos., which has its own hotel portfolio, is already seeing interest from clients, Behm said.
“We’re pretty pumped about the pipeline we’re creating just in our network, so once we get this out there, we’re excited about where the sales volume comes from,” he said.
The 108-acre Encore Park is north of Holly Boulevard on the west end of Brandon, with Ellis & Eastern Co. rail running through it.
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Gary Fleisher is Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and the Offsite Builder. Email at [email protected]
