“Thanks for a great tour. Mind-blowing impressive is the only way to describe your facility. Definitely the future.”
– A builder from Massachusetts who attended our most recent facility tour
It’s been a year now since we started producing precision building components in our new facility in Keene, NH. The facility has generated interest locally, regionally and nationally: locally, because it represents a significant economic boost for the area; regionally, because it increases our ability to serve clients throughout the Northeast; and nationally, because it contains state-of-the-art equipment and systems that represent the future of home building.
Not surprisingly given the uniqueness of the facility and the benefits it creates for Unity’s clients, we receive many requests for facility tours. In order to accommodate these requests, we are giving tours of the facility on a bimonthly basis. The tours are a wonderful way for prospective clients, builders and others interested in high performance construction to learn more about Unity’s “Better Way to Build.”
In order to give context to the work that happens in the production facility, we typically begin the tours with a short presentation that provides an overview of Unity’s design-build process. The presentation includes background information about the steps leading up to producing panels in the facility, and about the assembly and finishing of our homes on site. Before any panels can be built in the facility, our design and engineering team creates a detailed 3D computer model that generates the instructions for the computer-controlled machines in the shop. After the panels have been produced, our team of highly-skilled carpenters assembles them on site with care, efficiency and attention to detail.
Following the introductory presentation, a shop leader tours the visitors through the facility to provide a close-up look at the equipment and workflow. The various stations highlighted in the tour include:
- Planning and Logistics
- Robotic Material Handling
- Computer-controlled Cutting Center
- Roof Panel Line
- Floor Panel Line
- Wall Panel Line
- Finishing and Bundling
We complete the tour with a Q&A session with various members of the Unity team. It’s always interesting to hear the variety of questions that arise—from “Where does all the sawdust go?” (much of it to local farms), to “Are robots going to put carpenters out of business?” (not anytime soon).
If you’d like to have a better understanding of how Unity’s systems can provide benefits in the construction of your new home—or if you’d simply like to learn more about state-of-the-art homebuilding, please register for a tour at our Events page, and sign up for Unity’s mailing list to be kept informed about upcoming tours, open houses and other events.
