Vazbuilt embarks on nationwide expansion to address housing backlog

Vazquez Building Systems Corp. (Vazbuilt), the construction firm that pioneered the pre-fabricated modular housing system, is embarking on a nationwide expansion  to help resolve the five-million-unit housing backlog in the Philippines.

Edgardo Vazquez, president and CEO of Vazbuilt, said his company is on the lookout for joint venture partners nationwide that will help them deal with the rising demand for ready-to-build Vazbuilt products, which range from housing to perimeter fencing to commercial development.

He revealed that the company’s current manufacturing capacity needs to be intensified due to the increasing demand for its products, including prefab homes and prefab fences.

Vazbuilt manufactures pre-fabricated, reinforced concrete columns, wall panels and tie beams, which are eventually assembled into modular housing units or perimeter fences.

In general, a Vazbuilt home takes less time to build with fewer workforce. Practical and cost-effective, the system allows for easy assembling and dismantling of components for expansion and home improvements.

Last June, Vazbuilt signed a joint venture deal with a group of realtors in Angeles City to kickstart the development of affordable housing in the city and other parts of Pampanga.

Under the partnership, Vazbuilt and its new partner agreed to establish a joint venture company that will put up a manufacturing plant to produce concrete-based construction components, including, walling, roofing, flooring, fencing, and paving blocks.

Vazquez said they are also in talks with another group in Cebu for a joint venture partnership to bring the prefab construction components to Central Visayas.

The plan is to put at least 14 plants all over the archipelago to manufacture Vazbuilt products, which won for Vazquez the "Inventor of the Year" award from the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1995. 

The company has existing manufacturing plants in San Pedro, Laguna; San Isidro, Nueva Ecija; Norzagaray, Bulacan; and Davao. Its long list of clients include SM Prime Properties, Robinson’s Land, Fil Estate, Filinvest Corp., Landco Pacific, One Asia, Stateland Investment Corp., Manila North Tollways Corp. and Tollways Management Corp.

Vazbuilt’s modular housing system is capable of assembling a house or building within weeks with pre-fabricated materials that can withstand typhoons and earthquakes.

Vazquez said that for as low as P5.81 million in working capital, interested groups or individuals can use the Vazbuilt technology to produce ready-to-assemble components in their own backyard, franchise "Vazbuilt Home Centrale" in their area, receive marketing assistance and enjoy tax benefits for championing mass housing.

Aside from the amount, Vazbuilt partners are expected to have a working area of 3,000 square meters for open space or 550 square meters ground floor for factory buildings.

Vazquez said each joint venture company that will result from partnerships with Vazbuilt is expected to have a rate of return of about 31 percent in a period of three years and three months.

"Our goal is to help address the huge housing backlog in the country. We welcome partners to invest in new manufacturing facilities to meet the increasing demand for our products," he said.

Vazbuilt was established in Feb. 1991 to engage in the supply and construction of houses and other forms of structures using its patented prefab building technology, a highly engineered method of construction buildings for residential and commercial purposes.