PRENTISS, Miss. (AP) — A North Carolina company will open a modular home manufacturing facility in Mississippi.
''This is a big shot in the arm,'' Prentiss Mayor Charlie Dumas said Friday.
The city agreed to lease 75,000 square feet to Coastal Modular Building Systems, which is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., according a filing with the N.C. Secretary of State's office.
By next March, the company will begin turning out the home pieces and taking them to sites in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, where they will be used in the homes' foundations, said company president Mike Zangardi.
Zangardi said the homes are engineered for high-wind zones and corrosive environments. He said the company will adapt the buildings to fit in with local styles.
''We plan to embrace the local architecture with our designs,'' Zangardi said.
A modular constructed home is partially assembled in a factory-controlled environment, but built with the same materials and to the same local building codes that govern site-built homes. Once shipped to its final destination, a modular home can be set on its foundation in less than a day by a small team of workers. Finish carpentry can quickly be completed with the home available for occupancy within one month.
Coastal Modular Building Systems plans an initial work force of 50 employees, Zangardi said.
''As we bring the factory up to speed, we will employ 100,'' Zangardi said.