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The Chesterville Record Canadian quality, energy efficiency make Guildcrest Homes winner in USMOREWOOD - American sales of the popular Guildcrest Home have doubled every year since the Morewood based company made a foray into the U.S. market in 1995. But it's not for the reason you might think. While a comparatively low Canadian dollar has made any Canadian purchase attractive to Americans, it's the quality of the Guildcrest Homes product – and its high energy efficiency – that's responsible for growing sales south of the border, says Guildcrest Homes president David Poupore. A solid 30 per cent of the prefabricated modular homes built in Morewood this year have been shipped to American buyers. But Guildcrest was competitive in the American market even when the Canadian dollar was a much healthier 75 cents U.S., Poupore says. Guildcrest has established a retail presence in five American states – New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut – through independent builders in those states who offer the Canadian-made product. Whether destined for Chesterville, Ontario or Fall River, Massachusetts, all Guildcrest Homes are built in the company's Morewood factory and shipped – you've probably seen the trailer-mounted modules on the highway several times. Locally, Guildcrest Homes workers are the builders, who assemble the modules and finish them when after they are hoisted onto their foundation by crane. In other areas, such as in the states, it is the local building professional who offers the Guildcrest product who adds the finishing touches. A home destined for New York or Vermont, for example, is built here to meet the state's building codes. Poupore says while the shrinking Canadian dollar has put Canadian products "on the radar screen" in the U.S., Canadian housing is perceived as better quality than modular homes built in the U.S. Also, Guildcrest has always had a focus on energy efficiency, something American builders have not addressed to the same extent. "That's the niche we're going after down there, high quality and energy efficient housing," Poupore says. "A pure price strategy wasn't going to be our strategy." Poupore notes there are less expensive modular homes built in New York, and many built in Pennsylvania that are available to Americans, but they don't match Guildcrest for energy efficiency and quality. For example, Guildcrest Homes use heat-recovery ventilators and high-performance windows, which are unusual in modular homes built in the U.S. Also, Guildcrest is known for its attention to air tightness and sealing. "What's happening in the U.S. is our volume is up year after year," Poupore says. "That's creating jobs in Morewood, in North Dundas Township, that wouldn't be there otherwise." About 165 homes will be built in Morewood this year, and 55 to 60 of them will be placed on foundations on American soil. But Poupore notes
despite the company's growing U.S. sales, there's still a lot of room
for the local market. "We welcome the opportunity to build homes
for people here, and there's still loads of time to place an order this
fall." |