First shipment of pre-fabricated homes from Viceroy Homes sent to Japanese earthquake and tsunami survivors

Viceroy Homes Ltd. has manufactured and shipped the first lot of pre-fabricated temporary housing units ordered by the Japanese government to help house survivors displaced by the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in the northern region of Japan in March. The temporary two-bedroom homes, which include a kitchen, bathroom and small storage room, were manufactured at Viceroy’s plant in Richmond, B.C.

The homes, which were ordered by the Japanese government through Viceroy Homes’ exclusive Japanese building partner, Selco Homes, set sail for Japan from the Port of Vancouver to Sendai. These housing units are now in Japan and being assembled on land provided by various levels of government for this purpose.

“It’s extremely gratifying to know that the first units to make their way out of our factory will be lived in by families who are finally getting on with rebuilding their lives,” says Viceroy Homes president Dan Fox. “Every one of our employees worked extremely hard to ensure this shipment was prepared on schedule. I’m proud of everyone for what we’ve been able to accomplish in a very short period of time.”

Viceroy Homes has been working with Selco Homes as part of the response effort to the Japanese government’s request to their nation’s building industry to construct over 30,000 temporary housing units for the 350,000 people now living in evacuation centres in the hardest hit regions of the country.

Selco Homes’ head office is located in the northern city of Sendai, at the center of the most heavily damaged prefectures. Selco is a key member of the Association of Japanese Builders, which has an immediate mandate to provide temporary housing units over the next several months.

Beyond responding to this initial emergency request from the Japanese government, Viceroy Homes will continue working with Selco to provide permanent housing solutions as Japan looks to re-build upwards of 100,000 single family units over the next three to five years in the devastated Northern region of the country.