Often when a person hears the term modular home, they think of a machine manufactured house that can be moved from place to place.
Westchester Modular Homes, established in 1986 and headquartered upstate in Wingdale, has been changing that vision for years.
One Saturday a month, Westchester Modular holds an Open House tour where clients and interested home buyers can walk through the 110,000-square foot factory and see just how their modular homes are constructed.
“We’re building anywhere from three to five homes at any given time, depending on the size of the house,” said Vice President of Sales & Marketing, John Colucci, “and most of what we’re building our homes for customers, a house for a builder who is spec building a home, or for projects. Very few are for display.”
Walking around the factory, an array of noises from hammers, to saws, and wood clapping together rings in your ears, while smells of paint and fresh sawdust waft into your nose. And there are sections to the factory. One area you can clearly see floor structures being measured out, another section has the structure of a roof being put together, another is where insulation is quickly and efficiently put in the walls, and yet another is where painters are covered in paint putting the finished touches on the walls and ceilings. Skilled workers and craftsmen are busily moving about each section, sometimes crossing over and lending a helping hand in another area. Houses built by real men and women.
“Really, the difference between what we’re doing here versus a stick builder out there, is the controlled environment and more lumber being used,” stated Colucci. “We’re stick building homes. We just need to put more lumber in for more support to be able to ship it over the road, lift it up and then piece it together on the building site. And building indoors allows us to keep moving because we’re not being slowed down by rain or snow or wind, which also means our building materials are not getting wet.”
Having an indoor factory, according to Colucci, also allows better control over speed as well as quality on the production line. And once a week a third party agency is required to come in and inspect the units to make sure everything is being built and constructed according to the State Code. That same party gives Westchester Modular Homes the approval and go-ahead to ship the unit and set it on its foundation.
“You also have the time aspect. From the time the floors of a home start being built to the time it goes out the other end of the factory to be shipped, is about six days,” Colucci said smiling. “We build 52 weeks a year, we never stop, and it’s important for our employees to always have work, so we build all year long.”
Westchester Modular employs nearly 175 people full time in their factory in Wingdale and in January of 2000 it became an Employee Owned Company, meaning each employee has ownership interest and stock. Currently, Westchester Modular markets their homes through a network of independent builders in nine states here in the Northeast, with many of those homes constructed, transported and set on foundations right here in Sullivan County.
Although Wingdale is a bit of a drive from Sullivan County, Colucci encourages potential clients and homebuyers to take a trip to visit the factory to see for yourself how the homes are made, whether choosing a pre-designed plan or looking to create your own custom plan, including building green, saving on energy and natural resources.
“That’s another thing that we offer,” stated Colucci. “We have a gallery of homes you can choose from, from Colonial style to Craftsman, Ranches, and Capes or we can work with you to customize the house you want. For instance, in our Orange County location that is just off of 84 near Middletown, Sales Representative Patrick Hatcher, would work with you on everything. Meaning it’s a one-stop shop. He would help you design the house as well as take care of hiring a general contractor, plumbers, and electricians. We’ll even help with financing.”
To find out more information on Open House tour dates or to look more into what Westchester Modular Homes offers visit www.WestchesterModular.com
By, Autumn Schanill