Following up on a story we published Nov. 14, 2011, OmahaWorld-Telegram reports the oil boom in North Dakota continues to have positive repercussions for area MH producers. The York, Nebraska, Champion Home Builders plant has doubled its production staff since summer to 150, and intends to hire another 50 early next year. Champion General Manager Tom Tyree says, “It’s kind of like the good old days in the industry. Instead of buying one at a time and taking forever to get stuff done, they’re buying 20 at a time — or more.” Martin Huff, Executive Director of the Nebraska Manufactured Housing Association, says the producers in Nebraska are flourishing because in the immediate area, South Dakota has one manufacturer, and Minnesota and Montana only have a handful. Chief Custom Homes in Aurora, NE and Heritage Homes in Wayne, NE expect to add 30-50 percent more workers soon. Bering, NE-based Magnolia Homes sent a salesman to Dickinson, ND and he had to stay in a hotel 50 miles away. The population of Tioga, ND will expand from 1,300 to 5,000 once the two “man-camp” compounds are completed. As the need for more housing continues, Chief Custom Homes national sales manager Scott Fletcher expects MH producers from farther away to get a piece of the action. Some workers in Williston are currently living in tents in campgrounds, and RVs in parking lots.
Photo credit: Jeff Beiermann/TheWorldTelegram)