Milford company banking on modular homes
MILFORD – The president of a Milford company that recently purchased a Maine manufacturer of modular buildings said modular housing is the “wave of the future.”
The R.J. Finlay Co., which owns a number of businesses in construction and real estate, bought Keiser Industries, Inc., a modular building manufacturer located in Oxford, Maine.
The 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility employees about 100 workers, who reportedly will not be affected by the purchase.
R.J. Finlay founder and owner Robert Finlay said modular construction – building in what is “essentially a assembly line for homes” – is efficient and environmentally friendly because there are no worries about the weather, and there is less waste in the building process.
In construction, he said, “there is so much time lost to the weather.” With the control allowed by interior construction, he said, “you get quality that’s hard to replicate out in the field.”
R.J. Finlay is on Armory Road and has development, asset management and construction divisions.
Seven months ago Finlay purchased Morin Brick of Auburn, Maine, the state’s last remaining brick manufacturer, which had filed for Chapter 11 court protection. Keiser recently completed the construction of a 95-unit senior living facility in Somerville, Mass., and Finlay will work with Keiser to show developers the benefits of modular construction.
Finlay also owns American Housing Initiatives, a developer and manager of affordable housing throughout the United States, A.B. Lloyd, a construction management firm that focuses on green initiatives for multifamily and commercial properties, and Tax Credit Asset Management, a Boston-based investment manager of affordable housing.
In the Sun Journal newspaper of Lewiston, Maine, Keiser’s president David Cuttler said the purchase will allow more growth and financial stability for the company during an economically depressed time. Keiser’s sales over the past two years remained strong, he said, despite the steep decline in the housing market.
Kathy Cleveland can be reached at 673-3100 Ext. 21 or kcleveland@cabinet.com.
