Please turn your device to portrait.
Developments in the US and Canada point to continued investment in industrialised construction, with manufacturers expanding through acquisitions, additional production capacity and established project pipelines.
The international offsite construction sector has recorded two significant commercial developments this week, with UK-based Reds10 Group acquiring a majority stake in a US modular housing manufacturer and Canada’s ATCO Structures opening an expanded manufacturing facility in Ontario. (main image: Representatives of Reds10 Group and MMY US mark the UK company’s acquisition of a majority stake in the US modular housing manufacturer.)
The investments represent different approaches to increasing manufacturing capacity, with Reds10 entering the US market through acquisition and ATCO expanding an established Canadian production facility.
Reds10 expands into US modular housing market
UK industrialised construction business Reds10 Group announced on 26 October that it had acquired a majority stake in MMY US, a modular housing manufacturer headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.
The acquisition marks Reds10’s entry into the US market and gives the group an established manufacturing operation, local government relationships and a pipeline of residential projects.
MMY specialises in permanent modular housing, completing approximately 85% of construction offsite. Its products range from single-family homes to four-storey residential developments containing up to 72 dwellings.
The company operates a manufacturing facility in Louisville and is preparing to establish a second operation in Cleveland, Ohio, through the redevelopment of the former Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Engineering Company building.
The proposed 17,200 m² Cleveland facility forms part of a broader local initiative to expand housing production and advanced manufacturing. Earlier this year, MMY was selected as Cleveland’s preferred modular housing manufacturer, supported by public-sector initiatives intended to encourage local employment and industrial investment.
The transaction brings Reds10 Group’s combined manufacturing footprint across the UK and US to approximately 59,500 m², with more than 1,000 employees across 14 businesses.
The acquisition price was not disclosed.
For Reds10, the investment provides an alternative to establishing an entirely new US manufacturing business. It also extends the group’s industrialised construction activities beyond its established UK markets in education, defence, healthcare and public infrastructure.
The Cleveland facility remains under development, and its anticipated production capacity has yet to be demonstrated.
ATCO doubles Canadian modular manufacturing footprint
In Canada, ATCO Structures officially opened its expanded manufacturing facility in Grimsby, Ontario, on 29 October, increasing its production footprint from approximately 7,900 m² to 17,200 m².
The expansion represents a 118% increase in factory area and supports ATCO’s manufacturing operations across housing, education, healthcare, workforce accommodation and major infrastructure.
The Grimsby operation employs more than 140 people, with additional employment anticipated as production increases.
Unlike manufacturers concentrating exclusively on residential housing, ATCO supplies modular buildings across several markets, including industrial, energy and defence projects.
That diversified customer base provides opportunities to utilise factory capacity across projects with different procurement cycles and construction requirements.
The Grimsby facility is one of five ATCO manufacturing plants in Canada. The company also maintains manufacturing operations internationally, including in Australia.
ATCO has previously delivered modular buildings for supportive housing, schools and major infrastructure projects in Ontario. Its expanded facility is intended to increase the company’s ability to supply these markets while drawing on Canadian materials, labour and local suppliers.
The company has not disclosed the capital cost of the expansion or quantified the additional annual building output it expects to achieve.
Different approaches to manufacturing expansion
The Reds10 acquisition provides the UK group with an established US manufacturing operation and access to MMY’s existing project relationships, while its proposed Cleveland facility would add further production capacity.
ATCO’s investment, by comparison, expands an existing Canadian operation supplying modular buildings across several sectors.
Neither company has disclosed sufficient financial or production data to assess the expected return on these investments. However, both developments represent substantial commitments to offsite manufacturing, through acquisition in one case and physical factory expansion in the other.
