What began as a regional effort to help Champion Homes retailers in Pennsylvania and the Northeastern U.S. has expanded into a new business unit called Champion Construction Services. It’s already operating throughout much of the Midwest and Eastern U.S. and may expand nationally.
CCS, which is a part of Champion Homes, offers owners and operators of manufactured housing communities and retailers a service to set and finish homes on-site. As an extension of Champion Homes, CCS provides on-site completion that can ease the weight of infill on community managers. Customers receive a valuable turn-key service including the homes that Champion builds and the set-and-finish services that CCS provides.
“This all started with a vision from the Champion executive management team,” said Stephen Ryan, vice president of Champion Construction Services. “After a year or so, Terrence Andros and I were brought in to lead the business unit.” Andros, director of business development at Champion Construction Services, said that both he and Ryan have a background in the community side of the business. They have more than 40 years of combined experience in asset management, operations, and inventory management.
“The communities we’ve worked with wanted a single point of contact – someone who would set up the home from beginning to end,” Andros said. “Champion saw that we could develop this service. We do the setting and finishing of homes, and we create value through offering faster speed-to-market performance for our customers.”
Andros noted that CCS’s goal is to complete a set within a designated amount of time after the homes are delivered.
“The idea is to reduce the time the community spends waiting on completion of the homes. Sometimes communities can have homes sitting for many months or even a year unfinished, which shouldn’t happen,” Andros said. “We aim to complete homes in 45-60 days depending on scope of work. What sets us apart is the improved speed-to-market performance we offer in getting the home ready for occupancy. With greater speed-to-market efficiency, community groups can offer more inventory for sale.”
In addition to its home-setting line of business, CCS offers a site evaluation service where the team will examine vacant infill sites to determine a buildable envelope, take measurements, note any obstructions or encroachments, and locate utilities for customers. The team also researches setbacks at the local municipality.
“We offer a one-stop shop service, and we aim to provide a seamless experience from the time the home is purchased to when the Certificate of Occupancy is issued,” Stephen Ryan, vice president of Champion Construction Services, said. “The customer buys a home from Champion, and the construction phase occurs in the Champion manufacturing facility. Then, the job is completed on-site with CCS. The customer works with Champion for all these steps in the homebuying process, and that communication within the Champion family is vital.”
Operate Quickly, Communicate Well
CCS is looking to scale. The business unit already operates in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, and Alabama.
There are plans to expand into Kentucky, Texas, and Colorado, as well.
“There are a lot of new community groups that have entered the business in the last 10 years, and when they see the one-stopshop service we offer, they’re often really excited,” Ryan said. “We’re seeing a lot of interest in the continuity we can provide with Champion Homes for manufacturing and CCS for setup.”
Prioritizing strong communication, CCS aims to serve as an extension of the customer’s management team.
CCS recognizes the opportunity to help community managers and wants to ease their workload so they can focus on their core business — fulfilling their residents’ needs and bringing in new community members.
As an example of CCS’s streamlined approach, they use a scheduling management program to help simplify the process of planning tasks and tracking workflows.
“We offer a one-stop shop service, and we aim to provide a seamless experience from the time the home is purchased to when the Certificate of Occupancy is issued,” Ryan said. “The customer buys a home from Champion, and the construction phase occurs in the Champion manufacturing facility. Then, the job is completed on-site with CCS. The customer works with Champion for all these steps in the homebuying process, and that communication within the Champion family is vital.”
Carry-Through Experience
A contract is signed with CCS for homesite preparation and setup when the customer orders a house. While the home is being built at the Champion factory, CCS acquires permits, builds the pad, and organizes any on-site needs. The house is then delivered to the prepared site and CCS completes the set, interior finish, electrical, plumbing, AC, and any exterior packages like a carport or garage.
Ryan explained that CCS will help facilitate factory service so small service items don’t delay the house becoming a home for end customers.
This important offering addresses a pain point that community owners often experience.
“The customer really benefits from the management and product experience we bring,” Ryan said. “And a major advantage of working with us is the existing relationships we have with our internal team at the factory.”
Andros emphasized the unseen value that CCS can provide for community managers. By serving as an extension of the community management organization, CCS can save them a significant amount of time and money, he said.
“When they work with us for turn-key services, they can have a single point of contact, one contract, and one check. When they compare that to the cost of doing it themselves — including managing multiple sub-contractors, insurances, and issuing multiple AP requirements — they can see the value we provide,” Andros said. “Instead of the community having to hire millions of dollars in resources to build a team, we’re their single point of contact. At that point, we handle the paperwork and project management, so they don’t have to do it themselves.”
The ultimate result can be a more effective business model because the set-up provider and the factory are in direct communication, providing significant benefits as a byproduct of this internal relationship, Andros said.
“We can identify opportunities for making the setting and finishing experience even better, communicate them to the factory, and make changes that can help elevate the industry as a whole,” Andros said. “The result can be a better build quality coming out of the factory and a better overall product for the industry.”
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