Clayton Homes
| Private | |
| Genre | subsidiary |
| Founded | 1966 |
| Founder | Jim Clayton |
| Headquarters | Maryville, Tennessee, U.S., United States |
|
Key people
|
Kevin T. Clayton (President & CEO) |
Clayton Homes, a component company of Berkshire Hathaway, is the United States' largest manufacturer of manufactured housing and modular homes.[1][not in citation given] The company is vertically integrated; it builds, sells, finances, and insures manufactured and modular homes. Additionally, the company builds and sells commercial and educational buildings.[2] Clayton's corporate headquarters are in Maryville, Tennessee. It operates 35 manufacturing plants in the United States and markets its products in 49 states through 448 company-owned retail outlets and more than 1300 independent retailers.[3][4] Its subsidiary Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc., specializes in mortgages for manufactured homes. Another subsidiary, HomeFirst Agency, provides insurance for 160,000 families.[3]
History
The company was founded by Jim Clayton in 1966. The company went public in 1983, trading on the New York Stock Exchange.[5] It was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in 2003 for $1.7 billion.[6] Kevin T. Clayton, son of the founder, is current President and CEO.[4]
As of 2007, the company website reported that Clayton owned and operated 68 manufactured housing communities and 12 subdivisions.[3] However, in July 2007 Clayton contracted to sell 65 manufactured housing communities in 11 states.[7] They produce homes under the brand names of Buccaneer Homes, Cavalier Homes, Clayton Homes, Crest Homes, Giles Industries, Golden West Homes, Hart Housing, Karsten Company, Marlette Homes, Norris Homes, Oakwood Homes, Schult Homes, Southern Energy Homes and TruMH. Clayton Homes also owns TruValue Homes, Luv Homes and Oakwood Homes.[8]
Clayton manufactures one- and two-story homes that range from 500 sq ft (46 m2) to 2,400 sq ft (220 m2) in floor area and from below $40,000 to more than $100,000 in price.[4]
Clayton Homes was sued by FEMA in 2011 for providing formaldehyde-laced trailers as part of Hurricane Katrina relief. They provided prefab shelters (through the Clinton Foundation) to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, where lab tests showed high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogen, and where many users reported health problems.[9]
The i-house brand was introduced in May 2008 as a green, energy efficient package.[10]
May 2, 2015 the WSJ reported that Warren Buffet said that he makes no apologies for Clayrton Homes' lending practices while defending the company at a shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway.[11]
In November 2015 Clayton Homes purchased Georgia homebuilder Chafin Communities for $50 million.[12]
On Dec. 26, 2015, BuzzFeed reported that Vanderbilt and 21st Mortgage ( also a Clayton lending division) provided many mobile home loans in the United States. The Clayton lending divisions provided 53% of loans to Native Americans, 56% of loans to Latino and Hispanic borrowers, and 72% to Afro Americans .[13]
References
- ↑ http://www.modularcouncil.org/mc/
- ↑ http://www.claytonhomes.com/about_us.cfm
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 About Clayton: History, Clayton Homes website (accessed October 22, 2007)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Clayton Homes, Inc. Company Profile, Yahoo! Finance (accessed October 22, 2007)
- ↑ http://www.sigepfoundation.org/resource/resmgr/docs/doud-clayton_endowment_journ.pdf
- ↑ The Ballad of Clayton Homes, By Jennifer Reingold (Illustrations by Christian Clayton), Fast Company, Issue 78, January 2004, Page 76
- ↑ "Clayton Homes getting out of land-lease business", by Michael Silence, Knoxville News Sentinel, Tuesday, July 31, 2007.
- ↑ http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/the-mobile-home-trap-how-a-warren-buffett-empire-preys-on-the-poor/
- ↑ http://www.thenation.com/article/shelters-clinton-built/
- ↑ Clayton's I-House: Prefab Green Homes Get Affordable. Popular Mechanics. January 15, 2009. accessed Jan 5, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.wsj.com/articles/warren-buffett-defends-clayton-homes-1430584843 Warren Buffett Defends Clayton Homes
- ↑ http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35513-clayton-homes-buys-georgia-homebuilder-for-50-million
- ↑ http://www.buzzfeed.com/danielwagner/warren-buffetts-predatory-lender-charges-minorities-a-lot-mo#.lfeJVZzlP
