RUSSELLVILLE – Southern Energy Homes, part of Clayton Homes, has a lot to be proud of in Franklin County. They cut the ribbon on a new addition to their manufacturing facility for their line of Energy Star rated homes and Governor Robert Bentley and a cadre’ of politicians and community leaders showed up to cut the ribbon. Among the guests were Congressman Robert Aderholt, State Senator Roger Bedford, State Representative Johnny Mack Morrow, Russellville Mayor David Reed Grissom, TVA Chairman Joe Rich and U.S. Department of Energy Chief Architect Samuel Rashkin.
Clayton Homes has built more than 1.5 million homes since 1956, winning multiple awards for design and construction. The line of new energy efficient homes is expected to lead the industry as the archetypal Energy Efficient design. Here is what the company had to say about the new facility: MARYVILLE, Tenn. (July 28, 2014) – Clayton Homes, America’s largest home builder, is bolstering its investment in the state of Alabama with the addition of a new, state-of-the-art home-building facility in Russellville, Ala. This facility, operated by Southern Energy Homes, Inc. (SEhomes), a subsidiary of Clayton Homes, will be the predominant builder for SEhomes’ Southern Homes line. Located on 27 acres, the cutting-edge facility expands more than 176,000 square feet of production space, and will build an average of 1,500 homes annually. Innovative features are incorporated throughout, such as motorized decking and shingle systems, state-of-the-art adjustable floor jigs, self-enclosed paint booths, advanced remote controlled cranes and allows for team members to build larger homes up to 86 feet in length. SEhomes currently employs 270 team members at its Russellville facility, and anticipates adding 50-70 new jobs. Clayton Homes will host an opening event on August 8, 2014 at the home-building facility, located on Highway 44 in Russellville, Ala. “When an existing Alabama company chooses to expand, more job opportunities are created for Alabamians,” said Governor Robert Bentley. “This new innovative facility will bring more than 50 new jobs to Russellville and the surrounding area. I appreciate Clayton Homes’ continued investment in Alabama.” SEhomes’ Russellville facility is the driver of Clayton Homes’ multi-million dollar investment in Russellville, Ala., and is the second home building facility that the company has opened in Alabama this year. Clayton Homes currently employs 1,936 team members from 10 supply operations and six home building facilities statewide. In 2013 alone, 5,398 homes were built in Alabama by Clayton Homes’ CMH Family of Brands. “Alabama has been a valued leader in our pursuit of exceptional homebuilding, and we are proud to expand within the state, not only with an additional facility in Alabama, but with the most advanced home building facility in the nation,” said Keith Holdbrooks, president of CMH Manufacturing, Inc., Clayton Homes’ manufacturing division. “This facility, like our pursuit of ISO Environmental certification, is but one example of how we are innovating home building every day.” Additionally, SEhomes was selected by Systems Building Research Alliance (SBRA) to build three homes for a 15-month test of energy performance. The homes represent three levels of energy efficiency: a home that complies with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) thermal standards, an ENERGY STAR® qualified home and a home that meets the requirements of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Challenge Home Program. All three test homes will be located at SEhomes’ new Russellville, Ala. facility through July 2015. The Russellville facility solely will produce SEhomes’ Southern Homes brand, which consists of home models that are all built to HUD code, and require multiple inspection points. These homes can also be upgraded to ENERGY STAR® qualification for homeowners who want lower energy bills. The homes from this facility will be available throughout the Southeast. Five of the six Alabama home-building facilities received the 2014 ENERGY STAR® Market Leader Award based on 2013 performance: Cavalier Home Builders of Addison, Southern Estates of Addison, Buccaneer of Hamilton, Southern Homes of Double Springs and Southern Homes of Lynn. “We are excited to bring Southern Homes to Russellville and to join its growing community, while providing jobs and deepening our continued investment in the state of Alabama,” said David Brewer, general manager of SEhomes. “SEhomes continuously pursues innovation, and strives to raise the global standards for home building processes. This is executed through the state-of-the-art building environment offered at our Russellville facility.”
The Quad-Cities Daily was on hand to capture the moment in EVENT PHOTOS, and we present them here. Feel free to tag the photos with information that you might find useful! (We will edit the tags, of course.) Make yourself a print if you like one of the photos! Just NO COMMERCIAL USES PLEASE.
Photos by Sheri Wiggins and Steve Wiggins
