5 Industries That Can Use Prefabricated Modular Construction to Fuel Growth

Outside of residential construction, these industries are most likely poised to leverage prefabricated modular construction for scalability. 

We frequently write here about how the housing industry is greatly benefiting from offsite construction, specifically prefabricated modular construction. With rapid urbanization, affordability and quick construction, these prefab housing structures are becoming more and more popular with developers and homebuyers. But, they aren’t the only ones that see the benefits. In fact, there are a myriad of industries that can benefit — even, fuel future growth — with the help of the fast, affordable, quality modular construction. Here, we’re taking a look at the top industries that can benefit the most and why.

1) Medical and emergency relief organizations

Whether it’s quick, emergency housing for victims of a natural disaster or buildings to administer emergency care, prefabricated modular construction can be a real asset for emergency relief organizations. Because this industry has to move so quickly (often with tight budgets), modular buildings are an ideal choice to quickly and affordably construct temporary housing or medical facilities. Also, modular construction is known for its quality and durability, a key factor for units needed to withstand tough conditions or heavy use.

Hospitals, too, can benefit from prefabricated modular construction, adding on much needed wings, specialization centers and offices to their campuses quickly, easily and affordably. Most importantly, because so much of the work is done ahead of time with modular structures, there’s far less work that needs to be done on site, reducing the amount of noise and construction at the hospital itself that would disturb patients. Finally, because prefabricated modular construction projects are so well built in such highly controlled factory settings, they’re a natural choice to help our growing care systems that emphasize excellence.

Check out these manufacturers leading the way in offsite construction for medical and emergency relief:

• Modlogiq
• Rose Office Systems
• Vesta Modular
• BMarko
• Boxx Modular

2) Education sector

As populations grow, local schools have to follow suit. But, with budgets tight across the country, building new wings and adding classrooms can be difficult, if not near impossible. In fact, a 2016 State of Our Schools Report released by the U.S. Green Building Council found that the United States is under-investing in school buildings to the tune of $46 billion each year.

Prefabricated modular construction, however, gives education systems the ability to quickly, easily and cheaply add classroom structures to their properties. What’s more, modular structures allow the schools to quickly install these new classroom structures without disrupting current classrooms with construction noise or school-wide shutdowns while construction is underway.

With a 2020 report finding more than half of U.S. schools in need of major repairs, high-quality prefabricated modular construction buildings could also be a safer option for students to learn and grow, too. 

Some leaders in prefab offsite construction for educational facilities:

• Tindall Building Systems
• Morgan
• Triumph Modular
• Ramtech Building Systems

3) Hospitality

Prefabricated modular construction is a natural fit for the hospitality sector in its repetitive, scalable processes. Hotels with a small number of room types — meaning most of the building consists of repetitive pieces — can drastically speed up construction timelines (by several months) and streamline supply chains. And, since mods are built off site, groundwork prep and the building of unique amenity spaces can start simultaneously with module building, also accelerating time to market.

In addition to efficiencies, modular hotels benefit from the quality control that prefabricated building allows. Not only does this ensure consistent quality from room to room, but hospitality brands with large and/or rapidly expanding portfolios can ensure standardization across properties. Additionally, the modular format separates each room with its own steel frame, providing better soundproofing than site-built hotel rooms that share walls, floors, and ceilings. 

Here are some examples of innovative offsite construction manufacturers to watch in the hospitality industry:

• Guerdon
• RCM Group
• BMarko Structures
• Palomar Modular Buildings

4) Data centers

Data center real estate is another industry that is taking prefabricated modular construction and customizing it to meet its unique needs. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar designs, these prefabricated modular data centers (also known as integrated modular solutions or containerized data centers) are being engineered with security, cooling, power backup and more built right in for total turn-key solutions.

These modular data centers are just as scalable as their storage and cloud services, allowing companies to launch their own private data centers on site quickly, easily and affordably. They also help existing data centers expand their systems with the same simplicity and cost-savings. Time savings are also important, with major corporations like Huawei boasting that their prefabricated modular construction data center projects are 2x faster than brick-and-mortar construction: “Onsite civil work and factory production are performed at the same time, shortening the delivery time by more than 50%.”

Check out these leading manufacturers in prefab offsite construction for data centers:

• Power Systems & Controls
• PCX
• Data Centers Delivered
• viaPhoton

5) Warehousing

With the global warehousing and storage market expected to grow by $387.49 billion between 2022-2026, this industry is also going to benefit from prefabricated modular construction to fuel its growth. Built quickly, expertly, on-budget, and to the exact specifications you need — from specific storage racks to cooling systems and size — these prefab warehouse buildings are quickly becoming the preferred choice.

Companies that need to build their first warehouse will love the ease and choice that’s allowed with prefabricated modular construction, as well as the ability to scale as business grows. Commercial enterprises will enjoy the same benefits on a larger scale, allowing their businesses to grow knowing they can quickly and easily add more warehouses to their portfolio on budget. There’s also the option for ‘temporary’ warehouses, allowing organizations to utilize these flexible, modular structures as their company moves, expands or deals with an influx of orders. 

These prefab offsite construction manufacturers are leading the way for warehousing:

• Western Steel Buildings
• Green Building Elements
• National Partitions
• Portafab 

Whatever industry, Stream Modular is here to move it

Whether you’re moving new classrooms to a school district, offices to a hospital, or data centers to your campus, we’re here to handle the transportation logistics of your Mods, Pods or Panels We are happy to talk about your transportation needs and how we can make them happen — just send us a note. 

Stream Modular is a transportation logistics company specializing exclusively in modular construction. We help modular manufacturers and builders transport mods, pods and panels so they arrive on time and safely to the build site.

Read more:

• Bringing It Home: The Transportation and Assembly of Modular Buildings is a Science and an Art
• Client Spotlight: Boxprefab Is Leading the Prefab Modular Building Space
• Cut On-Site Build Time with Offsite Manufacturing of Structural Materials