Category: Clayton Homes

Clayton Hits the Jackpot in Vegas

Posted by Ryan Willis – April 25, 2011

Knoxville, Tenn. – Millions of people travel to Las Vegas each year in hopes of hitting a hot streak and winning big.  Recently, Clayton Building Solutions did just that.  The company received not one, but three prestigious Awards of Distinction at the Modular Building Institute’s (MBI) “World of Modular” annual meeting in Las Vegas. 

“This is quite an honor for our company, and we are thrilled to receive such high praise,” said Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton Homes.  “Our industry is producing a number of truly amazing structures, and for us to be selected from the number of outstanding entries this year is a great accomplishment.”

Clayton Building Solutions is the commercial building arm of Clayton Homes and engages in a myriad of projects throughout the U.S. including military, multi-family, student housing, and light commercial construction. 

This is not the first time Clayton has been honored by the MBI, having received a total of seven Awards of Distinction between 2001 and 2011. 

Clayton received this year’s Judges’ Choice Award for its Fort Sam Houston project.  This premier award is given each year to the highest scoring entry.  Additionally, the company received first place in the Education category for the Fort Sam Houston project, while their Fort Hood project in Texas received honorable mention in the Institutional category.

“The entries in the MBI contest represent the best our industry has to offer each year,” said Doug Henriquez, Director of Clayton Building Solutions. “Modular construction is becoming widely recognized as the better way to build.”

According to Henriquez, modular construction offers several advantages over more traditional methods.  Projects are completed in less time and modular construction is typically more efficient, safer, “greener,” and offers higher energy efficiency and quality because components are constructed in a controlled environment.

The MBI Awards of Distinction is the commercial modular industry’s premier awards program, offering competition for MBI members, including building manufacturers, dealers, and product and service providers. Entries are temporary, permanent, and renovated modular buildings as well as industry marketing pieces.

Each entry is reviewed by an impartial panel of industry and non-industry volunteers including construction and code experts, architects and engineers, and marketing professionals. Building entries are judged on architectural excellence, technical innovation, cost effectiveness, energy efficiency, and calendar days to complete. Marketing pieces are judged on stated objectives, creativity, methodology, and results.

Other team members involved in these projects included Hensel Phelps, Jacobs-Carter-Burgess and the Warrior Group.

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About Clayton Homes:  A Berkshire-Hathaway Company, Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands, Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes.

Media Contact:
Mike Cohen
(865) 584-0550
mcohen@ackermannpr.com

Clayton Building Solutions begins modular housing project adjacent to Baylor University

Posted by Ryan Willis – December 2, 2010

Waco, Texas – There’s new housing on the way for students and others adjacent to Baylor University in Waco, and modular construction will assure it is ready far sooner than with previously accepted building methods. 

A groundbreaking today signaled the start of work on Legacy Lofts, which will include 444 apartments in three buildings as well as an amenities center and parking structure. Nearly 1200 students will call it home. It’s believed to be the largest privately-funded modular project ever built in North America.  

The 444 units will be built primarily in Belton, Texas, by Trendsetter Homes, a division of Clayton Building Solutions. All 444 units will be built within 6-7 months, with the entire project slated for completion by the end of 2011.  

“We’re excited about this project and being able to help create much-needed student housing so rapidly,” said Doug Henriquez, Director of Business Development at Trendsetter. “Increasingly people who want higher quality construction and faster delivery are turning to modular construction. We have another student housing project underway at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.”  

Recently, Trendsetter has been best known for government projects. In the past 4 years, the Trendsetter facility has built 34 multi-story apartment buildings which encompass more than 5000 apartments in the state of Texas. A project at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio represents the largest modular-built commercial project in the U.S., consisting of five buildings and over 1,500,000 square feet.  

With modular construction, much of the project is built inside climate-controlled conditions, and then assembled into buildings on site. It eliminates weather delays and often results in projects being completed in half of the time with just a fraction of the waste generated during the site-built process.   

“Modular construction helps us deliver superior quality while holding down costs,” said Kelly Williams, General Manager of Clayton Building Solutions. “We believe development of all kinds of housing, including student housing, will turn to modular construction as a smart, money-saving choice.”  

Legacy Lofts involves a number of companies. It is owned by Legacy Lofts Education Foundation, Inc. The prime contractor is Andres Construction Services, LLC and the architect is Architecture Demarest LP. Both firms are based in Dallas.  

The project is located on University Drive, just across the street from Baylor, but is not officially affiliated with the school. The City of Waco has been very supportive and instrumental in plan reviews.   

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About Clayton Building Solutions: Clayton Building Solutions is a division of Clayton Homes, Inc. A Berkshire Hathaway company, Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands, Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes.     

Media note: Images and site plans are available upon request.  

Media Contact
Mike Cohen
mcohen@ackermannpr.com
(865) 584-0550

Clayton Homes and the University of Tennessee team up to build New Norris House

Posted by admin – October 8, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn. – After two years of research, site visits and design work, construction of the New Norris House is under way.

The New Norris House, a sustainable home designed by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is a 21st century take on the original homes in the community of Norris, Tenn., built as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Norris Dam Project in 1933.

Members of Clayton Homes’ engineering, manufacturing and architecture teams served as UT’s consulting partners on the project. Clayton’s participation has involved reviewing designs periodically, making recommendations in terms of technical aspects of the project and ultimately agreeing to price and build the student-designed home in one of the company’s home building facilities.

Prefabrication of the house began in mid-September at a Clayton Homes factory, and the shell of the structure was delivered to the home site last week.

New Norris House Site Plan

Community members Jeff and Regina Merritt, who are active in renovating other historic Norris homes, helped facilitate the university’s acquisition of the home site.

The team is targeting a late April to early May opening of the home for demonstration and visitation by the public. Once completed, the New Norris House will seek LEED platinum certification from the United States Green Building Council, making it the fifth LEED platinum home in Tennessee. The LEED for homes program promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes and certifies that green design parameters are met.

The original town of Norris was designed as a model community and was revolutionary for its time. The centerpiece of the community was the Norris House, a series of innovative, affordable homes that featured new technologies and design elements such as pre-cast flooring and advancements in ventilation, insulation, electric and thermal heating, indoor plumbing and lighting. In that same spirit, the New Norris House was designed as an affordable, efficient and sustainable structure that incorporates today’s technologies and meets today’s needs.

“The New Norris House reflects the original model of Norris homes in its use of local, natural materials, ability to dwell lightly and responsively to the landscape and overall in its embodied progressive vision,” said Samuel Mortimer, a former architecture student and current research specialist working on the project.

The New Norris House will incorporate green materials to address indoor air quality. The interior will be well-insulated, bright and open. The design also will take advantage of natural ventilation, winter sunlight and summer shade. The house will feature solar-heated hot water, a high-efficiency heat pump, ductless heating and cooling, ventilation that recovers heated or cooled air before exhausting, a system for collecting and storing rainwater, and an on-site system for treating gray water.

After a one-year demonstration and evaluation period where the house will be open for tours for homebuilders, buyers and the public, the New Norris House will become a living laboratory for two UT research students. They will live in the house and will measure some of the energy systems as well as the house’s contributions to the community, which the team also considers to be part of sustainable design.

“We readily understand sustainability concerns in the building design, but sustainability must also be approached through lifestyle and community decisions,” said Assistant Professor Tricia Stuth, who is lead investigator on the project.

“The new design integrates the home into the surrounding community via pedestrian paths linking homes to community service nodes that provide for shopping, recreation, public gatherings and performances. Each node has a unique function serving the town as a whole.”

The bulk of funding for the earlier phases of the project was provided by an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant that the team competed for and won at the EPA P3 Award Competition in April 2009. Other funding was provided by the UT Alliance of Women Philanthropists, the Clayton Homes Foundation and General Shale.

The project, headed by the College of Architecture and Design, included participants from the UT Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, the College of Engineering and the Department of Environmental Studies.

For more information, visit http://www.thenewnorrishouse.com.

Media Contact:
Sarah Malak, Ackermann PR
(865) 584-0550
smalak@ackermannpr.com

Schwall Named Vice President Of Marketing For Clayton Retail

Posted by Ryan Willis – October 7, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn. – Clayton Homes, the nation’s largest home builder, announced that David Schwall has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing for Clayton Homes’ Retail company.

“David’s dedication to Clayton Homes is undeniable. His knowledge in the housing industry has proved him very valuable to our company, and we are thrilled to announce his well-deserved new position,” said David M Booth, President.

“Throughout my career, I have faced a number of different challenges that have helped prepare me for this position,” said Schwall. “I look forward to using that experience to lead the retail company’s marketing efforts.”

Schwall began his career with Clayton in 1996 when he joined the Direct Lending Department. In 2000, he helped initiate a lead generation program for Clayton involving Internet and digital marketing. The program touches 25 percent of Clayton’s retail sales and employs more than 60 team members. 

In addition to managing the digital marketing strategy for Clayton Homes’ Retail, Schwall is also a member of the company’s Web Council.

Schwall holds a bachelor’s degree from East Tennessee State University, where he was named 1996 Management Student of the Year. 

Schwall currently serves as the treasurer of the Bennington Farrington Recreation Association. He has also volunteered for United Way of Greater Knoxville and Junior Achievement. He resides in Knoxville with his wife Greta of 12 years and their three children.

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About Clayton Homes:  A Berkshire-Hathaway Company, Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands, Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes. 

Media Contact
Mike Cohen
mcohen@ackermannpr.com
(865) 584-0550

East Tennessee Facility Builds 25,000th Home

Posted by Ryan Willis – September 22, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn.– One East Tennessee facility has built enough homes over the past 16 years to house a sold out crowd at a Tennessee Titans game at LP Field. Clayton Homes’ Appalachia facility is responsible for providing 25,000 families across 17 different states with a place to call home.   

Clayton Homes’ Appalachia facility built their first home in 1994 in Andersonville, Tenn. Today, more than 200 team members at the Appalachia facility will celebrate the construction of their 25,000th home with a ceremony and lunch at the facility.  

“Clayton grew to be a large, national company because of the outstanding products that came out of facilities like Appalachia. The craftsmanship and work ethic that have been a hallmark of the facility are something we try and replicate in every one of our production centers,” said Kevin Clayton, President and CEO of Clayton Homes.  

“Reaching a milestone like this is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of so many – from our factory workers to the contractors, drivers, and the retail personnel – it truly is a team effort,” said Ronny Robertson, General Manager of the Appalachia facility. “We look forward to providing another 25,000 quality homes to families at affordable prices.”  

The Appalachia facility provides homes to retail home centers all over the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast. With production of the 25,000th home completed, the home will be shipped to a retail home center in Greer, S.C.  

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About Clayton Homes: A Berkshire-Hathaway Company, Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands, Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes.

Media Contact:
Mike Cohen
(865) 584-0550
mcohen@ackermannpr.com

Clayton Homes to Help in Haiti

Posted by Ryan Willis – August 6, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Clayton Homes, the nation’s largest modular and manufactured home builder, will soon be shipping classrooms to Haiti as part of an agreement with the Clinton Foundation…all part of an incredible humanitarian effort spearheaded by former President Bill Clinton. 

During the groundbreaking ceremony in Haiti with former President Clinton, Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton Homes, announced, “We are delighted to work with the Clinton Foundation in participation with the UN, Red Cross, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank to help rebuild Haiti.  This program will help get children back in school and create much needed Haitian jobs.” 

Clayton, a Berkshire-Hathaway Company, has significantly reduced the cost of the classrooms in support of this important initiative. The company plans to also supply discounted homes, specially designed for international shipping. 

“Ultimately our goal is to help Haiti develop facilities where they can build classrooms and homes themselves,” said Clayton. “This will help meet their ongoing housing requirements and build a new local industry.”  Clayton also hopes the program can be a model for assisting other nations with their housing and school initiatives. “We have dozens of production facilities all across the U.S.,” he said. “We hope to use that expertise to help developing nations learn the quality, cost and eco-friendly benefits of this building process.” 

When former President Bill Clinton was named to head the relief effort, Clayton’s Director of International Development, Paul Thomas, called the Clinton Foundation to see if there was a way to help.  That led to the involvement with the UN and to the announcement today in Haiti. 

Such international efforts are not new to Clayton Homes.  Through its Building Solutions Group, the company has tackled such challenges before.  “We have been engineering and designing structures that can be shipped around the world since the 1980s,” said Thomas.  “We have the expertise to assist emerging economies with their affordable housing, right down to the coordination of on-site development.” 

“We agree with President Clinton’s assessment that this is an important and critical first step in a sustainable future for Haitians and we are grateful to be a part of it,” added Clayton.

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About Clayton Homes:  A Berkshire-Hathaway Company, Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company with more than 12,000 employees at over 500 locations nationally. Learn more at www.claytonhomes.com.

Media Contact:
Mike Cohen
(865) 584-0550
mcohen@ackermannpr.com

Belcher Receives Award Named After Legendary Clayton Homes Founder

Posted by Ryan Willis – June 14, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn. – Clayton Homes, the nation’s largest home builder, announced that Joe Belcher has been named the inaugural winner of the James L. Clayton Award. Belcher, who has been with the company for 25 years, is currently serving as a Zone Sales Manager. 

The James L. Clayton Award represents the absolute pinnacle of personal recognition for career contributions to the well being of Clayton Homes.  The award bears the treasured name of Clayton Homes founder, James L. Clayton, whose entrepreneurial drive and insatiable demand for excellence have become legendary. 

“Joe plays a critical role for us at Clayton Homes. This honor recognizes his dedication, knowledge of the housing industry, and his high moral character,” says David Booth, President of Clayton Homes.  Belcher joined the company in 1985 and has served in numerous roles such as Zone Vice President and Regional Manager. He also serves as a member of the Board for the North Carolina Manufactured Housing Institute. 

“I am humbled because of the respect I have for the leadership in this company. It is a great accomplishment to be chosen from among thousands of hard working and dedicated team members in such a fine organization. To receive any award is special but to receive the inaugural award in honor of James L. Clayton is meaningful because of the high regard I have for our great founder,” Belcher said of his achievement. 

Clayton Homes was founded on cornerstone principles combining creativity, entrepreneurship, moral and ethical behavior and an inexhaustible customer focus to drive increasingly higher values to every stakeholder. The recipient of this distinguished award is a steward of these principles and mentors others with energy and enthusiasm toward a common goal. Through their efforts, the philosophy of delivering an improved lifestyle to customers and team members vibrantly continues. 

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About Clayton Homes:  A Berkshire-Hathaway Company, Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands, Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes.

Media Contact
Mike Cohen
(865) 584-0550
mcohen@ackermannpr.com

Clayton Homes Offers Military Personnel Exclusive Upgrades

Posted by Erin Freeman – May 28, 2010

Clayton Homes logo

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – (May 28, 2010) – While service men and women are away serving our country, they go months without many of the daily conveniences afforded by waking up each morning in their homes.  Recognizing this sacrifice, Clayton Homes is introducing the “Salute Our Troops” promotion, offering military personnel an option upgrade with a new home purchase between May 31 and July 4.

There are five different option upgrades available with a new home purchase.  New homeowners may choose the Energy Package upgrade, which includes a programmable thermostat and heat pump, while other upgrades include a 42” flat screen TV, Glamour Bath upgrade, or a Dream Kitchen Upgrade.  The final offer is a backyard entertainment package, featuring an 8’x 8’ back deck or a gas grill.

“We wanted to do something special to honor the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who have sacrificed so much for our nation,” said Chris Nicely, Clayton Homes Zone Manager.  “This promotion is a way for our company to express our appreciation and say ‘thank you’ to all those who served and continue to serve our country, along with each of their families.”

The “Salute Our Troops” promotion is open to all active, discharged and retired military personnel, along with National Guard and Reserve Government employees.  The promotion is being offered between May 31 and July 4 at participating Clayton retailers in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

For more information about the “Salute the Troops” promotion, visit the web page at www.2SaluteOurTroops.com or the Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/36hqnpk.

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About Clayton Homes:  Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands, Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes.

Media contact
Mike Cohen, Ackermann PR
(865) 584-0550

Clayton i-house Unveiled in Evans

Posted by Ryan Willis – March 16, 2010

Evans, Colo. –  The new, Energy Star™ rated i-house from Clayton Homes has arrived in the Evans area and can now be viewed, toured and purchased at Clayton Homes of Evans.  The model i-house – one of only a few nationwide – was built at Clayton’s Albuquerque facility.  

The eco-friendly Clayton i-house, which is now available for purchase, launched nationally at the Berkshire-Hathaway Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Neb. on May 2, 2009 when Warren Buffett showed the i-house to attendees.  Since that time, the i-house has been featured on numerous national cable television news shows and in newspapers and magazines across the country. 

The i-house is Energy Star™ rated, which means the home is at least 30 percent more energy efficient according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Although home buyers are likely to first notice the stylish design, cutting-edge color combinations and modern furnishings, the i-house also features solar panels, a rain water catchment system, high-end “low e” windows, a tankless water heater, low-flow faucets, easily renewable bamboo flooring and many other energy saving items. 

“The i-house will change the way people look at our products and housing in general,” said Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton Homes.  “We build these homes in a controlled environment away from the weather, so there’s a huge quality benefit simply because of how we build a home.  We also have far less scrap in our building process than a traditional home, so there are tremendous cost savings we pass along to the homebuyer.”

Built with an exterior of cement board and architectural metal, the home’s most distinctive feature is the V-shaped roof over the primary living space that includes the i-house’s rainwater catchment system and solar panels. The primary living area includes a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, and a deck connects it to a separate living area that features a bedroom or den, a full bath and a roof-top patio.

Clayton Homes says the i-house’s energy costs are less than $70 a month, but that figure drops to less than one dollar per day when the optional solar panel system is installed.

The i-house is consistent with the overall environmental focus at Clayton Homes, which is in the process of obtaining LEED certification – the national benchmark for eco-friendly design – at its Tennessee headquarters.  Clayton has cut energy costs at its offices by 28 percent over the last two years, and has already started implementing many of the “green” features of the i-house into its traditional homes.

Although the i-house is expected to be a popular primary residence, it is also drawing considerable interest from people who wish to have a second home or vacation home because of its affordability, unique design and energy efficiency.  The $8,000 first-time homebuyer’s tax credit, is expected to attract many first-time homebuyers, many of whom will be drawn to the modern design and energy efficiency of the i-house. More information is available at http://claytonihouse.com. 

Clayton, the nation’s largest homebuilder, has built 1.5 million homes since 1934.  Clayton homes are precision-built in 35 state-of-the-art, climate-controlled facilities strategically located throughout the United States. 

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About Clayton Homes:  A Berkshire-Hathaway Company, Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands, Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s leader in housing.  Visit Clayton Homes at www.claytonhomes.com. 

The i-house can be viewed, toured and purchased at Clayton Homes of Evans, 3455 W. Service Rd., Evans, CO 80620.  For more information call Mike Jansen at (970) 339-5500.

Media Contact:
Ryan Willis
(865) 584-0550
rwillis@ackermannpr.com

Clayton Homes Trendsetter Construction Completes Project at Fort Sam Houston

Posted by Ryan Willis – March 9, 2010

San Antonio, Texas – One of the largest residential modular construction projects ever is going up at a U.S. Army base in San Antonio, Texas. 

The Army found it could create housing for 1200 military medical trainees faster and more cost effectively by turning to modular construction. Some universities are reaching the same conclusion about how to quickly create more student housing…and do so while keeping costs down. 

At Fort Sam Houston the Army chose Trendsetter Construction’s modular design and construction process. In essence, 250,000 square feet of barracks were transported and assembled keeping the construction time involved to an absolute minimum.  That’s just the beginning. Eventually there will be five such buildings, supplying housing for 3,000 members of the armed forces. 

Trendsetter manufactured the modular units in their Belton, Texas facility and then transported each module to the site in San Antonio.  The building which stands four-stories tall, features 600 hotel-style apartments.  Along with Trendsetter, other companies involved in the project included, Hensel Phelps Construction Co., and the Warrior Group. 

“We have a strong team that includes our manufacturing partner and Hensel Phelps Construction Co, the general contractor,” said Gail Warrior-Lawrence, president of Warrior Group.  “It is an honor to be a part of providing housing for the men and women who defend America.” 

This type of construction allows for a speedier and more accurate construction, saving both time and money.  The manufacturing process also provides significant reduction in waste and energy costs.  “On typical project timelines, we can save 40-50% of the time on-site as compared to traditional construction techniques, while increasing control and reducing waste,” says Doug Henriquez, Trendsetter’s Director of Business Development.  “Our on-site finish includes assembly, corridor completions, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing connections.  This moves the bulk of work and risk to a manufacturing environment which increases consistency and accuracy.” 

“The Fort Sam Houston project has been such a rewarding project for our company,” added Henriquez.  “We were thrilled to be selected as the manufacturing partner on this job, and to be able to provide housing for the men and women serving our country as they go through their training programs.” 

Trendsetter is a subsidiary of Clayton Homes, a Berkshire-Hathaway Company. 

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About Clayton Homes:  A Berkshire-Hathaway Company, Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes. Learn more at www.claytonhomes.com. Learn more about Trendsetter Construction, a Clayton subsidiary, at www.trendsetter-construction.com. 

MEDIA NOTE: Digital images available upon request

Media Contact:
Mike Cohen
(865) 584-0550
mcohen@ackermannpr.com