Accord moves offsite housing factory to bigger premises

The Black Country-based association has announced that it is transferring its Local Homes factory to a new 56,000 sq.ft manufacturing facility located in Aldridge, Walsall.

Accord is currently manufacturing closed-panel timber frame homes at a 10,000 sq ft plant and warehouse in Beechdale, which is also in Walsall.

Production at the Aldridge plant is due to begin in spring 2018.

In addition to more homes, the new factory will manufacture products and components, including the new “H-pod” an integrated kitchen and bathroom unit.

Accord is investing £1m in the new factory including a second automated frame-maker.
As well as providing homes for its own pipeline, Accord is also supplying off-site manufactured homes.

Chris Handy, chief executive of Accord, said the association is planning that the new factory will be the hub for a number of other off-site facilities that it is setting up in partnership with other registered providers.

The opening of the new plant was supported by grant funding provided by the Black Country LEP (local enterprise partnership) and the Homes and Community Agency.

Mark Farmer, author of a government-commissioned report on reform of the construction industry that was published last year, said: “This announcement of a new factory with the ability to step change production capacity as well as supporting a ‘hub and spoke’ regional network is a great reflection of their progress and puts them at the forefront of the general shift in industry delivery models that is starting to happen.

“It is also interesting to see Local Homes increasing the pre-manufactured value of its current process through more use of consolidated and integrated components such as kitchens and bathrooms, further de-risking on site delivery.”