Prefabricated wall panels made their first big impact under a government program in World War II. In 1942, the federal government began contracting with 50 existing prefab housing plants to deliver dwellings for 42,000 wartime workers. Since this work was highly repetitive and required rapid delivery, it was well adapted to assembly line techniques. And this action stimulated a nascent industry to continue to advance the art of component manufacturing. Among the recipients of these government contracts were the Levitt brothers and the Price brothers. [For all images, See PDF or View in Full Issue.]
Immediately after the War, these same prefab plants prospered enormously by supplying the avalanche of orders from returning veterans, and the Levitts were the most ambitious, being christened “the future of home building” by the media. William and Alfred Levitt had moved their assembly line onsite to create the massive Levittown development in record time. Largely unnoticed during the same period were the increasingly productive offsite assembly lines used by James and George Price and about 250 of their peers.
Back in 1940, the Prices had incorporated their company with the name National Homes, an unlikely choice of names for a business in Lafayette, Indiana, a town of about 25,000. But this limited market forced them, initially, to figure out how to ship houses 50 miles to Indianapolis, and later, 120 miles to Chicago.
During the late 1940s and 1950s, National expanded rapidly by establishing a large dealer network, mostly outside large city limits. And in 1955, they began acquiring other prefabricated home plants close to most major markets. By standardizing practices at all of their operations, National became the largest manufacturer by 1960, supplying 45,000 units per year, more than any other builder.
In the 1950s, the Levitts also added an offsite facility to supply their projects in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. However, this was primarily a lumber supply yard that also did batch cutting of wall and roof parts.
In the 1960s, as equipment became available, National purchased and installed panel lines from Triad in Nebraska and truss equipment from Hydro-Air in St. Louis for their facilities. Also during this period, Ed Ryan was setting up his first component operation across the street from 84 Lumber, Marv Schuette was opening Wausau Homes’ first facility, and many other builders were following suit.
In 1972, when housing starts were reaching their all-time peak, Lou Davis joined National Homes. Lou would eventually retire as manufacturing VP for Builders FirstSource and was also an executive with Wickes after leaving National, but he recently described the amazing operation he saw early in his tenure at National in Lafayette:
“They framed panels up to thirty foot long on their multiple Triad tables. After sheathing, panels were conveyed through a nailing bridge and windows were installed. Then, panels were stood up and insulated with batts of fiberglass. From there, they were stacked vertically on one side of an open-top box trailer, with room for trusses to be set upside down on the opposite side. Beneath the sloping chords of trusses was roof sheathing, shingles, and other building materials. Underneath the deck of the trailer and between its axles was a box containing all the smaller miscellaneous building supplies and equipment. Across the street from the plant were up to 160 trailers ready for loading and shipment. Most houses could fit on a single trailer.”
No wonder a young Lou Davis was impressed, National Homes had been mastering their component manufacturing for 30 years when he arrived. Though they were not alone, National was a singular pioneer in the prefabricated home industry. They had survived through wartime and economic uncertainty and had advanced the state of the art of offsite construction, creating six component plants, three modular plants, and nine mobile home plants. But also, during Lou’s tenure there, the specialized component manufacturers had arrived on the scene, and they would soon make a dent in National’s business.
Next Month:
Wall Panels Become Components
For more on this story, see the related post on Truss Tales: When the Small Builder Passed the Biggest
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