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Sarasota Herald Tribune by Rich
Shopes
Aug 05, 2003
Local home builder looking to South of the border
Efficient Wall Systems keeps moving south.
First it was Michigan, then the home building company opened an
office at the Airport Commerce Center in south Manatee County. Now
it's turning up in Mexico.
Maybe it's the climate.
Efficient Wall Systems builds houses suited for warm temperatures.
They're made from concrete that's poured directly into pre-cut,
insulated, wood and metal forms.
This apparently helps save energy and resists mold, which explains
why the houses might find a welcoming committee in Mexico.
But Efficient has a more practical and strategic reason for flying
south.
It's working on a deal with Pulte de Mexico. That's Pulte as in
Pulte Homes, the biggest single-family home builder in the United
States.
It turns out Mexico has a shortage of affordable housing, along with
a long waiting list.
"There's just such a huge need. They need 12 million units and their
current production capacity is only about 400,000 units per year,"
says Herman Guevara, Efficient's vice president of sales and
marketing.
Efficient plans to open a factory in Monterrey, about 400 miles
north of Mexico City.
It's talking with Pulte de Mexico about building an initial 1,100
concrete houses at the rate of four units per day beginning in
January.
Two weeks ago, Pulte de Mexico executives watched workers build a
900-square-foot house behind Efficient Energy's offices. Guevara
said they liked the speed of construction.
Once the forms are made, workers can build a house in a matter of
hours. Also, the process requires fewer laborers, which cuts down on
overhead.
"Our ability to take a plan or few sets of plans and produce the
same thing over and over allows us to hit some pretty aggressive
price points," Guevara said.
Now, the company is building six prototypes, or ready-made forms,
for shipment. Guevara says the deal could be sealed by October.
Concrete for the houses would come from plants in Mexico and the
forms would be assembled there. The insulation and most other
materials for the forms would be supplied by U.S. companies.
Closer to home, Guevara said Efficient has just signed deals with
Bruce Williams Homes and U.S. Home to build in Manatee. Guevara
expects the first houses to go up in a month or so.
"We're also doing some commercial stuff in Naples," he said, adding
"we've taken some new twists and turns" since moving to Manatee a
year ago.
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