The Buzz: This big manufacturer of housing says it’s bringing 100 jobs to the area – Record Searchlight

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A modular construction manufacturer has picked Anderson to build its first plant, and the company vows to hire approximately 100 people when it opens early next year.

US-Offsite is a volumetric building company that will make prefabricated cubes for multi-family and commercial projects, such as apartments, hotels and student housing. The cubes will be built in Anderson and then shipped to project sites from Seattle to San Diego, company co-founder Dan Ferreira said.

“We are taking an entire multi-family structure up to five stories, we slice the structure into cubes, we fully build the cubes in the plant down to finishes, paint, fixtures and then we ship the cubes to the site where they are assembled like Legos,” said Ferreira, who envisions his company helping California’s housing shortage.

Building this way can cut in half the time for vertical construction, and there also is a cost savings, he said. Moreover, the developer or contractor doesn’t have to worry about supply chain issues, which Ferreira said is more critical amid the coronavirus crisis.

The plant in Anderson will be off Industry Road near the Wheelabrator Shasta Energy Company facility just east of Barney Road.

“So right now, we are in the middle of finishing up our entitlement and construction permitting to break ground on building a 200,000-square-foot facility,” Ferreira said, adding that US-Offsite is purchasing 72 acres and will build on 33 acres. “The rest is dedicated to future expansion.”

Construction of US-Offsite’s plant is expected to start this summer.

The goal is to have approximately 200 people working at the plant by its second year.

Once it’s operational, the plant will produce about 1 million square feet of multi-family housing per year, Ferreira and his business partner, Steve Beaumont, said.

Ferreira, the chief executive officer, founded the company with Beaumont, who serves as the chief operating officer. Both men own and operate other companies, but this is their first operation in the North State. Ferreira owns a design-engineering, commercial construction and a manufacturing operation on California’s central coast.

In choosing Anderson, US-Offsite comes to a community that has never fully recovered from the closure of Shasta Paper Co. nearly 20 years ago. With some 400 workers, the paper mill was one of the largest employers in Shasta County. City officials have said the closure threw off the area’s economic equilibrium, and the community has struggled to achieve that balance ever since.

“The search began around the ideal places to locate a blue collar — and I will use ‘blue collar’ in the most prideful way — a city or an area in California that valued manufacturing . . . that wasn’t about trying to create tech jobs,” Ferreira said.

The Industry Road site also is in an opportunity zone, a program that is part of the 2018 federal tax overhaul. The zones are meant to create tax benefits in designated areas to spur economic development and create jobs.

 US-Offsite has been working to open for several years and Ferreira said working with Anderson officials has gone well.

“They want to see us succeed,” he said.

Ferreira said the plant in Anderson will feature entry-level production jobs that pay more than $40 an hour.

“The management, engineering, designers, office, etc. will have ranges that extend even higher,” he said.

Launching amid the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t faze the company, Ferreira said.

“You know, when you build a business plan and you come up with an idea to pursue this, and this is several years in the making, if the plan is dependent on the current economic conditions or demand to sustain or increase production, then it’s probably not a very good plan,” Ferreira said.

Why not Stillwater?

US-Offsite considered several properties in Shasta County, including the Stillwater Business Park in Redding, before landing in Anderson.

Ferreira said Stillwater had qualities they considered, especially the park’s shovel-ready marketing tagline.

“Stillwater was amazing with the track that’s been laid out there to get people off the ground quickly — it’s a huge advantage,” he said.

But the Anderson site’s even closer proximity to Interstate 5 and the uniqueness of the logistics tied to hauling the product US-Offsite will produce sealed the deal, Ferreira said.

Both Ferreira and Beaumont believe that US-Offsite’s operation will create opportunities for other manufacturers, too.

“There will be regional manufacturers who will support us, insulation, lumber, things like that,” Ferreira said. “So what we believe, when we supply that demand, it will open up the opportunity for other manufacturers to come and set up, and Stillwater may come into play there.”

Microgrid system will help keep power on in Shingletown

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. started work in late April on a microgrid system that will help keep the power on to certain customers.

Temporary generation will kick in during future power shutoffs from PG&E, spokesman Paul Moreno said.

“Our specific objective with the development of temporary microgrids is to provide electricity to resources such as medical facilities and pharmacies, police and fire stations, gas stations, banks, markets and other shared community services when weather conditions make it unsafe to operate the grid,” Debbie Powell, vice president of asset & risk management for PG&E’s Community Wildlife Program, said in a news release.

The microgrid site is in the parking lot adjacent to Reed’s Market on Highway 44. There, PG&E crews will be able to connect mobile generators to the site, allowing a medical facility, fire station, gas stations, markets and restaurants — among other businesses, facilities and community services — to keep the lights on during power shutoffs, Moreno said.

The temporary system includes nearly 80 PG&E customers in the general vicinity of Highway 44, extending between Shingle Glen Trail and Alpine Meadows Road.

Due to weather conditions and other operational considerations, PG&E can’t guarantee electricity to all customers potentially served by this temporary microgrid, Moreno said.

The microgrid site is expected to be fully operational in July.

Customers who are within the temporary microgrid energization zone will receive a communication from PG&E, notifying them of their inclusion in the microgrid and how it will operate during a power shutoff, Moreno said.

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David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly “Buzz on the Street” column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-225-8219. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

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