Modular factory opens which could produce 5,000 homes a year
British modular housebuilder ilke Homes has officially opened its modular housing factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.
ilke Homes, which was set up as a joint venture between housebuilders Keepmoat and Elliot, aims to build 2,000 new homes a year at the factory within the next 24 months, and plans are in place to scale up to produce 5,000 homes per year in the next five years.
The factory in Yorkshire uses innovative methods of construction to build eight modular homes every day and specialises in the latest off-site manufacturing techniques. The homes can then be transported to developments across the country and once on site, can be installed at a rate of six homes a day.
Homes will have flexible layouts with over 100 possible variations, from two-storey terraced houses to three-storey semi-detached properties, and blocks of flats of up to four storeys.
Communities secretary James Brokenshire officially opened the new 25,000m2 modular homes factory, meeting with ilke Homes employees, testing out 3D modelling technologies used by their manufacturing team and seeing modules at various stages of the construction flow-line.
He said: ‘The precision engineered homes are assembled on a highly efficient flow line. Homes are fully mortgageable and tenure blind, being fully adaptable to both private market and housing association requirements for all forms of sale and rent.’
The opening of the factory has created more than 250 local jobs across ilke Homes’ manufacturing and supply chain, design and engineering teams, with 85% of roles classified as unskilled and taken by people from outside of the construction sector.
The housebuilder plans to expand its Yorkshire workforce with a further 500 high-quality jobs set to be available over the next five years.
Björn Conway, CEO of ilke Homes said: ‘We’re proud to officially open our first house building factory in the UK; delivering much needed, energy-efficient housing that will assist developers, local councils and housing associations responding to the current housing shortage.
‘The Government has called for the use of innovative new technology in the housebuilding industry in order to meet housing targets, and the modern methods of construction used to create our modular homes have been recognised as one of the most viable ways to do this.’
