Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Modular structures taking off
Henderson company sees demand from multiple industries
Cannabis farms, military shelters and downtown Las Vegas’ Container Park all have one thing in common: They were built from interlocking blocks created by Xtreme Cubes.
The Henderson-based company builds modular street structures it describes as “giant, prefabricated Legos.” The blocks come in a range of sizes and can be interlocked and used for things like offices, residential buildings, retail buildings and remote work sites.
According to CEO and co-founder Brandon Main, the modular building industry has been growing rapidly, with a growing number of diverse sectors taking an interest.
This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s it like working in Henderson?
We started the company in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2008, but we quickly outgrew that factory. We landed on a property out here in Henderson in 2015. Moving out here, we have the space, we have the access to interstate, we have rail access, and Nevada is actually a very business-friendly state. There’s no income tax and a lot of opportunity with a tremendous workforce in the surrounding areas.
It’s a tough economy right now with low unemployment, but we can pull employees from neighboring states. Geographically, we’re in a good spot. Moving to Henderson allowed us to achieve our growth plans.
How has the modular building industry changed over the years?
The industry is growing rapidly. There’s a workforce shortage with such low unemployment. Contractors are struggling to find people to perform their work, and there’s a need for a high-quality product quicker.
The modular building industry has been around a long time. Even though there were other options, we took a cutting-edge approach to the process, and we said we’re going to design a steel building frame system that can carry all the load. Ours is a standalone application that is specifically aligned to customer needs.
What sort of industries use Xtreme Cubes?
Industrial was our starting sector, but over the years we got into commercial and retail and then residential. We built some cabin-style or condo apartment-style buildings. We’re getting into some hotels and then military or government-type buildings.
Some of the new sectors include military applications and hospitals. We’re going to be building some modular rehabilitation clinics and hospitals, or hospice care. We’re getting ready to release our first set of hotels, a multi-story apartment.
With the legalization of marijuana, medical cannabis is another new sector. As indoor farming grows, which is what these would be used in, they’re environmentally sealed containers. A lot of the problems with the cannabis industry is related to control of crops. No mold, pesticides, insects, anything that’s a potential infection to crops. We have a clean room where the operators can grow. If can be leafy greens, tomatoes, specialized herbs.
We as a manufacturer offer turnkey solutions to our customers. We design and build to exact requirements.
What’s the benefit of building with blocks as opposed to traditional construction methods?
Speed to market. With traditional construction methods, you’re burdened with the permitting process and delays with on-site inspections. We have the same building codes as traditional construction methods but in a factory environment. We have our own third-party inspector that comes to our factory. We marry them up together in sync and save all that time. We end up with a finished product in one-third of the time. We can run around the clock.