Blu Homes—Platform Excellence
Blu Homes in Vallejo ,
Calif. , provides a glimpse into
what could be the future of home building. Blu's center of excellence is its
platform, which is, as its location near Silicon Valley
might suggest, information technology. The company builds what it calls
"prefab" homes made of heavy timber, steel, and glass in a
state-of-the-art factory in Vallejo .
It offers seven models ranging from the low $200,000s to more than $500,000.
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Maura McCarthy, Blu Homes Owner |
Blu avoids the use of the word "modular" owing to
quality perception problems among consumers in some areas of the country. Also,
unlike modular construction, which requires expensive transportation on
oversized vehicles and setting equipment that cannot reach some sites, Blu
Homes are first manufactured, then assembled, then broken down "like
pieces of origami," says Maura McCarthy, co-founder and vice president of
market development for Blu, and can travel anywhere by garden-variety
18-wheelers.
"The technology that is all around us is virtually
unused in home building," McCarthy explains. She notes that Blu "is
more Tesla than Toll," referring to the car maker that made electric cars
cool and desirable instead of squat and utilitarian, and Toll Brothers,
the high-end public home building company that ranked No. 10 on this year's
BUILDER 100 list. "We decided to embrace prefab just like Tesla embraced
the electric car," she says.
The technology drives the entire enterprise. Home buyers choose
and customize their home on the company's website; the specs are then
immediately available to the factory. As such, the progress of each home can be
tracked in real time, with the management team able to access data anytime from
anywhere.
Blu has design centers in Vallejo , Los Angeles , and New York City and
is a licensed general contractor in California , Connecticut , Idaho , Maryland , Massachusetts ,
New York , Rhode Island ,
Virginia , and Washington state. Clients work with
dedicated company representatives who manage all aspects of design,
engineering, factory construction, project management, shipping, setting, and
finishing. Blu also has a network of Realtors and developers to help clients
find land. It does not itself buy lots.
McCarthy, noting that the company is privately held, would
not disclose the number of homes the company sold last year but said the
company logged more than $100 million in net bookings during the previous 12
months dating from early May 2015, and the company's website reports it has
sold more than 200 home products for 125 clients since its founding in 2008.
The company currently has 285 employees, she said.
On the other hand, at Blu, they do still drive pickup
trucks. And they are not electric—yet.
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