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Structural versus Cyclical: What Matters More?

Anirban Basu, CEO of Sage Policy Group and Chief Economist of the Modular Building Institute

A new set of considerations have induced leaders of major global manufacturing enterprises to reconsider their site selection decisions. Among these are: 1) a desire for simpler logistics emphasizing shorter transit distances and times; 2) a need to better protect intellectual property; 3) more reliable court systems; 4) incentives offered by the USMCA, America’s trade deal with Canada and Mexico; and 5) a recent set of subsidies offered under packages like the Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

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The Building Industry Needs a Moonshot Speech

In his “Moonshot” speech in 1962, President Kennedy challenged his fellow citizens to land a man on the moon and bring him safely back to earth before 1970. He showed leadership, reimagining human potential and progress, and this famous speech has been an inspiration for many to get things done. Likewise, a “Home-shot” speech that challenges citizens to remove lengthy procedures and “carefully” remove some of the mountain of red tape required for permitting before 2030 would certainly make a huge difference.

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How Issa Nesheiwat Conquered the Great Manufacturer/Design Divide

modular house setting

Born in Jordan forty years ago, Nesheiwat is something of an outsider to the modular housing world. His entrepreneurial spirit led him from a childhood growing up in Yonkers, New York, to the more provincial location of Poughkeepsie where he delved into many unique business ventures. Not one to shy away from a challenge, he took on projects that seemed impossible, often in the housing sector. His innate sense of the fundamentals in finance, corporate branding, and business expansion have led him to where he is today.

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Offsight’s Digital Certification Program Can Accelerate Modular Industry Growth

Offsight Certification Program

Offsight launched its Offsight Certification Program in January 2024. Its program is designed to equip production managers, quality inspectors, plant managers, and operators with a deeper understanding of how technology and digitization can be a game-changer in driving process improvements and productivity benefits, which will ultimately allow its customers to capture the full value of modular and offsite construction.

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UNB OCRC Student Competition Crowns 2023 Offsite Construction Design Contest Winners

Modular construction rendering from 2023 UNB OCRC Student Competition winners

For the third year in a row, the University of New Brunswick’s Off-Site Construction Research Centre presented its Off-site Construction Student Design Competition. This competition—presented again by the Modular Building Institute (MBI)—showcased student design innovation in modular, prefabricated, panelized, and other types of off-site construction and featured entries from dozens of interdisciplinary collegiate teams across Canada.

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Building at the Intersection of Housing Affordability & Energy Conversation

This action item, presented at the SGC’s October 2023 meeting, details the SGC’s “Resolution to support energy-efficient factory-built housing to meet the State’s climate, housing and equity goals” and identifies its next steps to help fund further development of factory-built housing.

Tasked with looking at how the state of California can best house its growing population while meeting its aggressive energy, housing, transportation, land use, and equity goals, the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) faces a slew of challenges. But, if the outlook of SGC Executive Director Lynn von Koch-Liebert is any indication, it’s only a matter of time before those challenges are successfully met.

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Study Quantifies Modular’s Wood Waste Savings

Killingsworth’s research compared the raw weight of lumber removed from the job site (roll-off weight of dumpsters processed by the waste hauler) with the wood waste created at the modular plant. Those amounts were then divided by the square footage and the total wall height of each project to come up with an average amount of waste.

A recent study commissioned by MBI and carried out at Colorado State University shows that when it comes to optimizing the circular economics of a construction project, modular is the preferred way to build (when compared to traditional ground-up framing techniques).

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For True Modular Building, Sustainability is Part of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

True Modular Buildings

For Carel van Duuren, the 71-year-old CEO of True Modular Building, sustainability is more than just his legacy—he’s thinking about the future of society at large. How do you make things infinitely repeatable and simple? How can you make sure you’re contributing to the economy without adding extra waste or using increasingly precious resources? And how can you do this, and quickly?

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