"The Missing Element"
by Mike Morton, Modular Technology, Inc.

On behalf of all members of our industry, Maury Tiernan, our Vice President of MBI, recently participated in the American Institutes of Architects (AIA) national trade show. The survey results of Architects nationwide were quite revealing. They indicate a demand exists with limited supply.

Specifically, there exists a market of new buyers wishing to take advantage of some of the benefits our industry offers: Quicker occupancy, personal property financing versus real property financing, and single source management and responsibility for a project. However, they want their building facilities to be the same as a site constructed building.

Note that construction cost is not an issue. Savings to the user is realized through sooner occupancy which decreases construction financing costs and increases sales or operating days. What the AIA trade show revealed is that although buyers are requesting the advantages a modular method of construction offers, the Architects relate through their research that modular buildings are trailers and only a few companies in the industry can provide buildings the same as conventional site constructed buildings. Architects are therefore not recommending a modular method of construction.

Based on these Architect conclusions, I see some of my own conclusions with respect to our industry: The first, which is nothing new to you readers, is that our self made stigma of a trailer industry with limited potential is still in place. The new news is that we now know that this fact is being broadcast by Architects to new building purchasers coast to coast. Our second conclusion is that we are allowing Architects and users of our building products to define our products as a description of a "building type," instead of a description of a "method of construction." And lastly, it's apparent a boom of new building buyers is out there requesting the benefits our industry offers. How, therefore, do we overcome these problems and gain these new buyers?

The solution is simply to provide the one missing element: Production of buildings that are the same as site built buildings. Every other element to satisfy this new boom of building buyers is already in place.

Based on our industry products today versus ten years ago and on what buyers are telling their Architects today, I predict that in our lifetime, the market share in our industry is going to pass to industry companies who can provide the missing element. It was the buyers that made us change ten years ago and it will again be the buyers that make us change in the future. If you have not already planned on how to produce buildings that are the same as site constructed buildings, you may want to reconsider to maintain your market share and to avoid any compromise with the inevitable.