Champion Enterprises, just announced the acquisition of SRI Homes in Canada for $114 million. No doubt this really brought a smile to the faces of the former Champion employees in Alabama.
SRI Homes, together with predecessor companies, was founded in 1963, operates three manufacturing facilities in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan and is the largest factory - built home builder in Canada. Generally thought of as a builder of quality manufactured and modular homes before the Champion acquisition, it will be interesting to see how long that description lasts. According William Griffiths, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Champion Enterprises, Inc. "We are proud to have Robert and the rest of the SRI team become part of Champion. They have built an extremely well-run, successful organization producing high quality homes and delivering strong operating margins."
Any bets on next year's earning statements after Champion Enterprises takes control. Any guesses as to which Champion Enterprises factories will close in 2008 in order to maintain or improve earnings?
Maybe, just maybe, Champion Enterprises believes that if they buy a quality operation that it will rub off and somehow change their existing operations.
The following is taken directly from a Champion Enterprises web page:
"About Champion
Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Champion Enterprises, Inc., a leader in factory-built construction, today operates 31 manufacturing facilities in North America and the United Kingdom working with independent retailers, builders and developers. The Champion family of builders produces manufactured and modular homes, as well as modular buildings for government and commercial applications. For more information, please visit
"www.championhomes.com."
Notice anything missing, like the word "QUALITY" as it relates to producing manufactured and modular homes. Maybe it was an over-site, or then again, maybe not!
It looks like Champion Enterprises Inc.'s management style and philosophy is catching on with other investors in the manufactured and modular home marketplace.
In New Hampshire, a Claremont manufacturer of modular homes yesterday told 122 workers it was closing and would pay them up until Christmas Day. Customized Structures, which opened in 1984, designs and builds modular homes. A Massachusetts-based venture capital company, Watermill Ventures, acquired the company in 2003. Sound familiar, it should, in a move eerily similar to Champion Enterprises closing of its Alabama plant, Watermill Ventures decided to reward its workers with a lump of coal for Christmas.
