JMB Modular builds regional roots into industrialised future

In conversation with Built Offsite publisher Michael Dolphin, James Briggs, Managing Director of JMB Modular Buildings, discussed the company’s evolution from a regional builder to a modular manufacturer with ambitions to scale nationally. (main image: Interior of JMB Modular’s new Shepparton manufacturing facility, designed with a moving production line and capacity for multi-storey modular construction.)

From construction to modular
Founded in Shepparton in 2008 as JMB Constructions, the business initially operated as a conventional domestic and commercial builder. Briggs explained that his direction shifted after experiencing the limits of the on-site model. “I realised I’d created something that wasn’t sellable, scalable or sustainable,” he said. “Everything relied on me and my registration. I needed to get everything inside four walls and find a way to make the business sustainable and scalable.”

The early years were demanding, with Briggs juggling projects across multiple states. “I had about 23 guys in two states and got my helicopter pilot’s licence to fly around to jobs,” he said. “It worked for a while, but ultimately it was a fast track to burnout. I realised the only way forward was modular.”

That decision was reinforced by international exposure and personal experimentation. “In 2014 we started exporting materials to Africa and Papua New Guinea for worker accommodation,” Briggs said. “In 2018 I went to China looking at container factories and modular opportunities, and I built my own house out of containers. It was about 50% offsite and was recognised at the Australian Construction Awards in 2019. That project brought in a heap of enquiries.”

A purpose-built factory
That realisation led to the establishment of JMB’s new purpose-built factory in Shepparton, which will be operational by the end of the year. “It’s 30 metres wide, 121 metres long,” Briggs said. “It’s a moving production line with eight workstations. Each station houses four modules, and the modules will spend four days in each station before moving on.”

The workflow has been designed to replicate industrialised manufacturing. “It starts with structural steel in station one, light gauge steel in station two, rough-ins in station three, and keeps moving through the trades until it reaches station eight,” he explained. “We fabricate our own floor joists, walls and trusses and infill it all in-house.”

JMB has already invested in automation and is adapting techniques from outside the construction industry. “Our innovation is mainly in stations one and two,” Briggs said. “We have two synchronised gantry cranes and use laser projection technology from the aerospace industry. We also pour precast concrete floors upside down with silicone bolts for bathrooms. Once the chassis are complete, they move down the line with conventional processes.”

Briggs described the approach as an assembly of proven methodologies. “I don’t think anyone’s using this in housing, but yes, I developed it. I’ve taken ideas from aerospace, automotive and shipbuilding. I look for cost-effective technologies like laser projection and roll forming and apply them to modular building.”

Target markets and output
The facility has been designed to deliver significant annual output. “We’ll need 64 employees to push out 200 modules a year,” Briggs said. “Those modules can be complex, particularly in multi-level builds where fire and acoustics are critical.”

Target markets are defined by scale and repeatability. “Anything with purchase orders of 10 or more is what we’re chasing,” he explained. “That’s worker accommodation, student housing, and multi-level projects. Everyone’s calling it modular now, but much of it is just conventional building off-site. We’re targeting multi-level separate fire compartment projects, because density in metro areas demands it.”

The company is already engaged on social and worker housing projects. “We’ve got social housing, both philanthropic and government funded,” Briggs said. “We’ve also picked up work through the regional worker accommodation fund. Most of it is housing and accommodation with developers we’ve partnered with for a long time.”

Growth and future plans
JMB’s Shepparton site has a five-stage master plan approved under a seven-year planning permit. “Stage one was funded by selling 50% equity in the business,” Briggs said. “We haven’t had government funding yet, but we plan to expand as cash flow allows.”

Longer term, Briggs sees the system itself as the company’s most valuable asset. “I think the real money is in being able to franchise the methodology and the process,” he said. “We’re documenting and systemising everything carefully so that it can be rolled out in other states. We can say: this is the moving production line, these are the role forming technologies, this is the gantry setup, this is the laser projection — and you’re ready to start.”

Technology adoption will remain central. “We’re looking at VR headsets with LIDAR for quality assurance,” Briggs said. “A chassis inspection can take 45 minutes, but with headset overlay it could take five. At scale, that’s worth investing in.”

For Briggs, the factory marks both a consolidation of lessons learned and a platform for growth. “We needed to get everything inside four walls,” he said. “Now we’ve built the systems and processes to make modular scalable and sustainable. That’s the future for JMB.”

See: JMB Modular Buildings