Champion Home Builders has announced a $1.3 million capital investment to build manufactured homes in Leesville, La. The modular builder will occupy two existing buildings totaling 246,000 square feet in Leesville’s Northside Industrial Park.
Champion, which operates 28 manufacturing facilities throughout North America, plans to create 200 new direct jobs with an average annual salary of $35,000, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) estimates the project also will result in 218 new indirect jobs, for a total of 418 new jobs in Vernon Parish and the Central Louisiana region.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to produce Champion’s award-winning manufactured homes in Louisiana, the third-ranking state nationally in manufactured housing sales,” said Lyall, the Southern region vice president for Champion, in a statement. “We’re thrilled to serve the great people of Louisiana, as well as to tap into the impressive legacy of Leesville’s workforce. Without the hard work and support from the teams at Louisiana Economic Development and the City of Leesville, we wouldn’t have secured a new home in ‘the best hometown in the world.’”
Gov. John Bel Edwards said manufacturing accounts for a substantial portion of Louisiana’s economic output. “Leesville and Vernon Parish will provide a good home for this national company, and the jobs created by this project will be filled by a talented workforce in Central Louisiana,” he added. “Champion is a leader in its field.”
Founded in 1953, Champion specializes in a wide variety of manufactured and modular homes, park model RVs, and modular buildings for the multifamily, hospitality, senior, and workforce housing sectors. Champion started as a single manufacturing facility in rural Michigan and grew to offer factory-built housing and other structures throughout the U.S. and western Canada.
LED began working with Champion on a potential project in May 2017. To secure the project, LED offered Champion a competitive incentive package that includes the comprehensive solutions of LED FastStart®, ranked the No. 1 state workforce development program in the nation. In addition, Champion will receive an Economic Development Award Program grant of $500,000. The company also is expected to utilize the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs, according to Edward’s office.
