American Container Homes in the News

Jamie Weber, a Kennewick businessman, designed a line of green housing units last year that can be folded and collapsed into a standard cargo shipping container, and shipped anywhere via train, truck or ship.

When Jamie Weber saw the destruction caused by earthquake that struck Haiti in January, leavings thousands of residents homeless, he knew he had something that could help.

Now he’s shipping portable homes, packed in shipping containers to India, and is in discussions with Chilean businessmen to provide emergency housing for earthquake victims there.

Weber, the owner of American Home Centers, designed a new line of green housing units last year that can be folded and collapsed into a standard cargo shipping container and reconstructed at their destination within a matter of days. The homes are engineered to be earthquake resilient and able to withstand hurricane force winds of 100 mph.

The idea of container homes isn’t new, but the trend has been to recycle the heavy steel shipping containers into homes.

Weber’s company, American Container Homes, prefabricates 550-square-foot units that, because of a special proprietary design created by Weber, fit into the container for shipping. The units can be reconstructed individually or configured together and even stacked to create hospitals, motels or apartments.

The units are designed so they can operate on a 12-volt platform if needed, like a travel trailer or motor home, so they can be fully self-contained, which is essential if the units are being used for disaster purposes in third-world countries that often lack infrastructure. And it can be move-in ready in two days.

Weber of Kennewick said has worked in the construction industry since he was in college. His traditional home construction company, America Home Centers, has offices in Spokane, Kennewick, Moses Lake, Yakima and Portland.

In February, Weber partnered with Clayton Homes, a large modular and mobile home manufactured owned by Berkshire Hathaway, to build and sell the container units worldwide.

Weber is hoping to create relationships with government and nonprofit agencies so the low-cost housing option, which can be purchased for as little as $25,000 for a 1,200-sq.ft. unit, can be used as emergency housing or hospitals.

Weber said the partnership with Clayton gives him the ability to manufacture more than 500 container homes a week.

The natural disasters that have occurred in Haiti, Chile and New Orleans demonstrate the need to be able to respond quickly for housing and hospital needs, Weber said.

His container homes, which slip into a 40-foot shipping container that can be transported by struck, train or ship, are a rapid-relief solution.

“We have floor plans that offer shelter for up to eight people, with a kitchen and bathroom,” he said.

Another floor plan serves as a hospital, with 15 beds and operating room facilities. The plan can be expanded to fit almost any need, he added.

And although they are designed to be a portable, affordable shelter alternative, it doesn’t mean the units are temporary. They are built to last and offer a long-term, green housing solution.

The homes are made of steel and a concrete-like product and contain no wood, which improves their durability, Weber explained.

“It makes them nearly impervious to moisture and insects, while allowing them to withstand up to 130 mph winds,” Weber said. “In numerous studies, steel construction has proved to be the most earthquake-resistant building process.”

The units can be mounted on either an anchored steel frame or a concrete pad.

Weber said the units can be engineered specifically for whatever region they are going to and are built using green materials, like composite panels and light gauge metal structural components.

“We’ve been really careful in researching the right mix of materials that are not only green, but also fully non-decaying and non-combustible,” he said. “These things are more durable than my own home.”

Weber said the anchor structure is designed to meet building codes for FHA-financing and the units also can be financed worldwide by financing programs available through the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

Weber said the company is currently building 180 units that will be shipped to India to be used as single-family homes there.

Anthony Hemstad, executive director of the World Trade Center in Tacoma, is arranging a trip to Washington D.C. with Weber to meeting with congressional delegates, FEMA, USAID and the Department of Defense.

Hemstad said American Container Homes has a “strikingly innovative product,” with huge potential, not only for disaster relief, but also for the military.

“In Afghanistan and Iraq we have troops in hostile areas that are living in tents,” he said. “It’s very dangerous for the troops and very inefficient.”

Hemstad said the Department of Defense must supply heating oil to warm the troops, which is very expensive.

“The (container homes) are more energy efficient and when we pulled out of an area, they could either be left with the community, which would be great for them, or shipped to another spot,” Hemstad said.

Hemstad said the trip is a chance to introduce officials to Weber’s container homes.

“We’ll be knocking on a variety of doors, but at least we are seeing interest,” he said. “People want to meet with us.”

written by Mary Hopkin for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business in April 2010

There is often confusion over the relative thermal performance of western-style framed and insulated construction, compared to traditional concrete masonry construction that is common to many other parts of the world. As will be explained however, framed, insulated homes can perform equally or superior to homes built of concrete and masonry in nearly all climates.

The potential advantage of concrete masonry is due to its high thermal mass, which provides the ability to store excess heat during the daytime, and release it at night. This gives the potential to reduce both daytime cooling loads and nighttime heating loads. Unfortunately though, this benefit only works in a very specific climate.

For thermal mass walls to function most efficiently, outdoor temperatures need to be above the desired temperature during the daytime, but below the desired temperature at night. If both day and night temperatures are too hot, then thermal mass can begin to work against you; it will begin to release heat back into the home at night, even though it is still too hot to want the added heat inside. Conversely, if day and night temperatures are both too low, then there is not enough heat for the thermal mass to absorb to release back at night, absent special passive solar designs that involve much more than just concrete or masonry walls.

So it boils down to this: if the days are too hot and the nights are too cold, then thermal mass walls are a great solution. Otherwise, framed and insulated construction can be much more energy efficient. In insulated walls, the insulation directly reduces the transfer of heat and cold, rather than simply storing it, and then releasing back at night – whether it is still too hot inside or not.

None of this means that either system cannot perform perfectly satisfactorily in any kind of climate. With good insulation, concrete masonry and framed walls can both perform very well. An interesting comparison is made between Las Vegas, and Dubai. While both have similar climates (uncomfortably hot both day and night) each typically employ a different construction technique.

In Las Vegas, a typical home is built with framed, insulated construction, while a corresponding home in Dubai would typically be constructed of concrete block. If the Dubai home is of non-insulated concrete block, all other things being equal, its energy efficiency is likely to be inferior to the framed, insulated home in Las Vegas. However if it is insulated, both homes should be very energy efficient.

Of course each construction technique also confers other advantages unrelated to energy efficiency, and since both can perform well in nearly any climate, it is these other factors that are often the deciding factor in choosing one system over the other.

The chief advantages of framed construction are greater economy, speed of construction, and fewer raw materials required to construct a given building. American Container homes are confident that our framed, insulated technology will meet all of your needs and expectations, perform as well or better than concrete masonry construction, and provide a faster, less costly solution to your building needs.

James Weber, President and CEO of American Container Homes, meets with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers to discuss US and Global applications of his company’s patent pending containerized housing solutions.

Click to read Letter from McMorris Rodgers to ACH

WASHINGTON – Last November, when Berkshire Hathaway bought the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation for $34 billion, the world took notice.  In Washington State, a small business owner and his team were hard at work with the goal of designing, manufacturing, containerizing, and exporting a manufactured home that could be engineered for seismic resilience as well as be able to withstand hurricane force winds in excess of 100 miles per hour. American Container Homes succeeded and now has a line of “green” housing products that can be folded and collapsed into a standard cargo shipping container and then folded back up in a matter of days. With American Container Homes and Clayton joining forces, economical western style “green” housing can now be delivered anywhere in the world.
 
In spite of a global economic downturn, emerging markets and recurring natural disasters such as Katrina and Haiti have caused the World housing supplies to become millions behind the global demand. With mammoth new housing projects slated across the planet, American Container Homes and Clayton Homes, Inc. can fill the demand by building the world’s first practical containerized housing system in quantities never before available to the world market. The new partnership combines American Container Homes’ proprietary foldable mobile-home technology with Clayton’s advanced mobile home manufacturing infrastructure, all packaged within an innovative financing model that allows their housing products to take advantage of the United States Export-Import Bank financing programs.

The idea of containerized housing is not new, but previous efforts have focused on recycling shipping containers themselves into homes, resulting in unconventional products with limited niche-market appeal and limited financing options. The new partnership focuses on applying the efficiencies of assembly line production with the efficiencies of rail and ocean logistics, to offer a well known and understood American housing product to the rest of the world. American Container Homes invented the concept and designs, and Clayton Homes, America’s largest manufactured home builder, added the ability to manufacture the product in incredible quantities. 

The new containerized housing products are engineered specifically for the region they are going to and built to superior structural specifications using green materials, such as composite panels and light gauge metal structural components. “We’ve been really careful in researching the right mix of materials that are not only green, but also fully non-decaying and non-combustible – these things are stronger and more durable than my own home.” says James Weber, President of American Container Homes. Yet surprisingly, their newest designed entry level home, complete with appliances, is expected to only cost around $40,000 FOB. Spanning the entire gamut from 550 square foot single-story homes, to full multi-level apartment complexes, hotels and dormitories, American Container Homes are ideal earth-friendly, long-term solutions, both for developing countries as well as those requiring large-scale relief and reconstruction due to natural disasters like the recent tragedy in Haiti.

James Weber, President
American Container Homes
February 4, 2010

James “Jamie” Weber is the founder and president of All American Corporation, which is the parent company for American Home Centers, with six locations in Washington and Oregon.

During a December 13th meeting, Weber combined business and pleasure by hosting a Christmas party for over 100 of his employees, which included live entertainment, a catered dinner, and full hosted bar.

During the informal business segment, Weber conducted a power point slide presentation entitled: “2009 Year End, Learning from the past—looking to the future.”

The presentation included an overview of the multi-faceted and innovative business model of All American Corporation, which not only has American Home Centers under its umbrella, but includes entities that involve finance, insurance, home manufacturing and construction, patented sports equipment, real estate brokerage, International shipping and logistics, and container home exports.

James Weber was very enthusiastic about plans to offer discounts up to $20,000 on eco-built homes. His firm has researched the carbon footprint analysis of on-site construction vs. off-site manufactured homes. Studies done by the Stockholm Environment Institute considered both the material production used in construction of homes and the energy requirements of the home over its lifetime of approximately 150 years.

Plus, the comparison of being able to replace key components in an off-site home as opposed to retrofitting existing or site-built homes, with C02 reducing technologies of the future.

According to the SEI study, the off site-home out performed the on-site home in terms of greenhouse gas reductions in all areas.

This presents a unique opportunity in the off-site market and American Home Centers has teamed up with Clayton Homes, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, to form a relationship designed to capitalize on the market need for eco-building and environmentally efficient homes.

The philosophy of customer satisfaction resonates through out all the promotional material distributed by American Home Centers. The following is a statement from the company web site:

From time to time in America, a company emerges in an industry with an innovative method of providing customers a buying experience like none other. From quality products, selection, value, efficiency and unparalleled customer service, American Home Centers stands alone as the one?stop solution for all your building needs.

Whether a garage or an addition, a custom new home, or even building an entire apartment complex, American Home Centers has a purchasing power advantage that comes from having multiple locations and a partnership with the world’s largest home builder. Our consultants have the resources to compare multiple construction methods and present all the available options in a side by side comparison, allowing an educated choice to be made by our customers.

From pioneering green building technologies with state certified ECO-Green products to our Insurance Division price checking your insurance premiums, we at American Home Centers are committed to presenting you a thorough look at all of your available options and then utilize our purchasing power to give you the best value on whichever option you choose.

One of the most exciting products in Weber’s arsenal, who already owns several patents to various other products–is the development of a “container Home”, which is designed and built to fit inside a container for shipping to International Markets. Demands for such portable homes are coming primarily from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Furthermore, representatives of American Home Centers have already begun communicating with officials, developers, and governments in the following countries: Israel, Brazil, Nigeria, China, Russia, and Boswana– with several pre-orders already in place.

Shipments of the first container homes have been estimated to begin during the first quarter of 2010. Currently, due to certain limitations, there are no plans to sell these homes in the United States.

Jamie Weber is a young and savvy business man, who has innovative ideas that will fit nicely in a changing world, where businesses must adapt to market demands, which include environmental stewardship–or fall into the vast grave yard abyss of antiquated and irrelevant companies.

In addition, American Home Centers has an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Locations: Tacoma/Fife, Kennewick, Moses Lake, Spokane, Yakima, and Portland

© Copyright Jean Williams 2009 as appeared on AllVoices.com

Manufacturing Letter from Clayton President

A Fife, Washington-based manufacturer of ‘containerized’ homes is looking to the Port of Tacoma as an Asian export gateway for its products.

American Container Homes, which manufactures homes that are pre-assembled in sections that can fit into standard shipping containers, also hopes to develop a South American gateway through Beaumont, Texas and a Canadian export facility north of Spokane.

The firm announced last week that it is preparing to export its first order of the 1,200-square-foot 3-bedroom homes, which come with electric appliances and are pre-wired and pre-plumbed, to Israel.

The collapsible units may be configured as a single-family residence or when paired with additional units as a duplex, a two-section single-family residence or an apartment building. The entire building unit and garage can be fit into a single shipping container if applicable.

ACH’s parent firm, Spokane, Washington-based All American Corp., has been developing the collapsible homes for some time and currently has five offices throughout Washington state offering various alternative housing options.

According to AAC officials, subsidiary American Container Homes is in talks with mobile home builder Clayton Homes– owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire-Hathaway– to handle manufacturing of as many as 500 of the collapsible homes a day at Clayton facilities across the nation.

As appeared on Pacific Maritime Magazine Online on Monday, October 26, 2009