Industrialized robotic quality resilient housing manufacture

The lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges mankind faces today and has reached a crises level in both development and developing nations. Decent affordable and available housing is foundational to adequate health and wellbeing of the world populace. Rapid population growth and urbanization is creating a need for housing at an unsustainable rate especially in emerging and frontier countries of the world.

Globally in developing countries and advanced economies alike, cities are struggling to meet the affordable housing need.

The UN estimates that the global population will reach 8.5 billion by 2030, with almost 60% of the population living in urban centers. Over 90 per cent of this growth will take place in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. An estimated 3 billion people will need new housing and basic urban infrastructure by 2030. Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization putting pressure on housing delivery systems, many urban poor will not be able to afford formal housing without proper housing delivery and finance solutions.

This puts the issue of housing finance at the forefront of the global development agenda. It is estimated that 1.6 billion people will struggle to obtain adequate and affordable housing globally within a decade according to the United Nations.

If current trends in urbanization and income growth persist, by 2025 the number of urban households that live in substandard housing—or are so financially stretched by housing costs that they forego other essentials, such as healthcare—could grow to 440 million, from 330 million according to McKinsey Global Institute.

Climate change and extreme weather events like storms, floods, hurricanes, and heat waves which disproportionately effect developing countries calls for a more resilient urban planning, housing delivery and infrastructure as well as energy-efficient, low-carbon building and construction technologies.

Integrating climate smart building principles is a necessity as the building industry contributes to nearly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it crucial to address both housing affordability and carbon emissions.

In Sub-Sahara Africa where we currently deploy, the situation is dire and there is a major housing crisis. Sub-Saharan African Cities are experiencing rapid population growth and urbanization, but economic growth and housing provision has not kept pace. There is low capital investment due in part to Africa’s relative poverty. In Sub-Sahara Africa, there is an estimated 50-million housing deficit and more than 17 million housing deficits in Nigeria alone and growing at about 20% per year, according to a World Bank report. 

Demand for affordable housing in Nigeria is large and there appears to be limited interventions to support narrowing the gap. The World bank estimates that yearly output ranges from 100,000 to 200,000 per year as opposed to the required 700,000 units required per year.

Also, most of the new housing production caters to the upper income households thereby leaving the middle to lower income households without adequate housing provision.

Our plan is expanding affordable and high-quality housing production at scale and cater for this middle income and lower-middle income households, e.g. teachers, nurses, civil servants, traders who have regular income and can pay for ownership if access to long- and medium-term loan is available or pay for affordable rental.

  Most real estate developers in Nigeria and other Sub-Sahara African Countries are small groups with limited capital, however affordable housing is only profitable in large scale, and requires large investments of patient capital construction of the houses as well as financing in form of long-term mortgages for the buyers.

American Building Systems International uses an Off-Site state-of-the-art disruptive Automated Robotic Manufacturing Facility with Roll forming pre-engineered and pre-assembled recycled Light Gauge Steel Framing Technology and Computerized Concrete Machine to produce Cellular Lightweight Concrete (CLC) infills on site for sustainable multifamily affordable housing at industrial scale.

Our proprietary technology and infrastructure enable us to provide sustainable, low carbon, cost-effective, accessible, and efficient industrial scale manufacturing of standard multifamily affordable housing.

Pre-engineered manufacturing processes customizes steel dimensions and is combined with our proprietary penalization system, which enables the production of versatile structural components. The process accelerates building schedules, maintains structural consistency and quality, enhances safety, eliminates waste, and reduces labor as well as corresponding insurance costs.

Because our wall panels, floor joist and roof trusses are produced in a highly automated factory, design changes are made through digital software files rather than at the production floor. Each wall panel, floor joist and roof truss are fabricated with integrated electricity, plumbing and other facilities ready for installation.

Our system uses industrialized manufacturing and production methods and deploys state of the arts technologies which includes advanced building science, robotic automation, digitalization, recycled light gauge steel fabrication and advanced framing technology to deliver affordable housing solutions of high international standard, energy efficient, low carbon and very sustainable.

 Thereafter, uses a mobile computerized concrete machine that produces high-quality, consistent, and continuous monolithic pours of lightweight concrete (CLC) on location with a plastic reusable lightweight Formwork system for infill. A reusable Formwork that is customizable, lightweight, and easy-to-use is fixed for the Lightweight Concrete (CLC) pour. The formwork is reusable up to about 300 times. The system removes the need for anu heavy lifting equipment.

The installed capacity of the facility is equipped to process 10,000 tons of light gauge galvanized steel and can manufacture products for 2,500,000 square feet covered area per annum.

The above components are manufactured and assembled with robotics at the local factory.  This is done to reflect building permits and approved drawings, which are then transported to project sites for erection of building frames on pre-prepared concrete foundations to build Superstructure, Floor Decks, Walls and Roofs, in accordance with Approved Local and American Standards.

After erection of building frames, the concealed components are laid to provide for water, electricity, air-ducts, drainage, telephones, security, and high-tech cable networks. These tasks are accomplished very quickly due to the advantage available for working in open and non-concealed space.

Simultaneously, the roof, floors, toilets, kitchens etc. are completed and all specified fittings are installed to finishing standards.

Further, the System yields an embodied carbon savings of 40% versus traditional construction methods. 

We establish joint venture partnerships and co-invest in the establishment of local factories with local developers and governments to rapidly produce multifamily housing delivery. 

We plan to work with Development Finance Institutions like US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), to provide debt capital as well as structure mortgages in a way that are affordable to low-income families. Also, the US EXIM Bank can provide affordable finance for foreign buyers of the Factory and Housing components.

Middle income and lower-middle income urban households, e.g., civil servants, teachers, nurses, police, firefighters, clerical staff, factory workers, traders and other groups with regular income who can pay for affordable home ownership if access to long-term and medium-term loan in for of mortgage is available or who can pay for affordable rent. Also rent to own programs will be targeted through government supported programs.

Our solution provides these lower-middle- and middle-income families with quality and affordable homes with solar panels that provide them with affordable off-grid energy supply thereby promoting affordable low-carbon housing that are resilient to climatic impacts like floods, storm, and excess heat waves.

The industrial and efficient manufacture of housing significantly lowers the cost of construction and makes the house affordable thereby providing home ownership of this category of underserved communities.

The use of low cardon construction materials like recycled light gauge steel and light weight concrete (CLC) infills as well as energy efficient designs all contribute to global emissions reduction.

The innovative and disruptive financial structuring of setting up a local light gauge steel factory for climate smart, resilient homes and affordable construction loans to developers as well as long term and medium-term mortgages to low middle income and low-middle income families are commercially viable and sustainable solution that realizes decent return on investment and drives macro-economic development of the city and transforms the lives of the middle income and low-middle income families.

The use of the industrialized robotic factory based affordable housing manufacture at scale in a commercially viable way also serves as catalyst for economic growth and job creation especially in emerging economies and inner US cities like Newark New Jersey.

Our team consists of 20 committed, passionate and diverse members with a track record and experience of delivering impact and growth on a scale. The team is made up of professionals and social entrepreneurs, engineers, architects, surveyors, and designers. Based in the US, we have access to cutting edge technology in Light gauge steel Roll-forming Robotics technology as well experts in affordable housing finance and institutions with funding and mandate to provide affordable housing finance.

Our team consists of members who belong to the same target population and understand their aspirations and needs.  We form strategic relations with stakeholders and the community in which we operate.

We act as the project champions navigating the complex affordable housing ecosystem of conflicting interests.

To be successful at deploying a factory and developing large-scale affordable housing projects, one must understand the challenges and ensure that all key stakeholders have aligned incentives.

In Nigeria, we have partnered with the capital city of Abuja on a 60.4 Hectares of land. We are starting the construction of the first phase of about 350 units out of total of about 2000 units affordable multifamily homes with our proprietary steel frame technology. The road infrastructure as well as water and electricity are provided by the government making the housing affordable to the middle income and lower-middle income beneficiaries. The qualifying beneficiaries will also benefit from a low interest single digit mortgage for up to 25 years.

We currently serve about 300 people. We have developed or built about 300 housing units with our technology in Nigeria and they are fully sold.

American Building Systems International’s mission is to make sustainable affordable housing available to the lower-middle income and middle-income households globally via our industrialized robotic light gauge steel frame factory and light weight concrete (CLC) infill concept. It is therefore an excellent opportunity to be a part of the SOLVE Community to try to find a solution to this global problem. To solve the affordable housing conundrum, especially to emerging frontier economies like Sub-Sahara Africa and US cities like Newark, New Jersey, a lot of support is required to bring diverse stakeholders together as well as networking, technical assistance and raising the necessary equity required to provide affordable housing at scale.

There are significant barriers that impede the development of affordable housing at scale globally, working with SOLVE will help us overcome these barriers.

If cities are built the way they are financed (Renaud,1984), innovation in affordable housing finance is required to unlock capital investment, political will, and end-user finance for the provision of climate smart, resilient affordable housing at scale. SOLVE’s global community and platform will help us with Linking the domestic banking sector and domestic capital markets to international capital markets and global institutional investor base.

American Building Systems International uses an Off-Site state-of-the-art disruptive Automated Robotic Manufacturing Facility with Roll forming pre-engineered and pre-assembled recycled Light Gauge Steel Framing Technology and Computerized Concrete Machine to produce Cellular Lightweight Concrete (CLC) infills on site for sustainable multifamily affordable housing at industrial scale.

Our proprietary technology and infrastructure enable us to provide sustainable, low carbon, cost-effective, accessible, and efficient industrial scale manufacturing of standard multifamily affordable housing.

Pre-engineered manufacturing processes customizes steel dimensions and is combined with our proprietary penalization system, which enables the production of versatile structural components. The process accelerates building schedules, maintains structural consistency and quality, enhances safety, eliminates waste, and reduces labor as well as corresponding insurance costs.

Because our wall panels, floor joist and roof trusses are produced in a highly automated factory, design changes are made through digital software files rather than at the production floor. Each wall panel, floor joist and roof truss are fabricated with integrated electricity, plumbing and other facilities ready for installation.

Our system uses industrialized manufacturing and production methods and deploys state of the arts technologies which includes advanced building science, robotic automation, digitalization, recycled light gauge steel fabrication and advanced framing technology to deliver affordable housing solutions of high international standard, energy efficient, low carbon and very sustainable.

ABSI then uses a mobile computerized concrete machine that produces high-quality, consistent, and continuous monolithic pours of lightweight concrete (CLC) on location with a plastic reusable lightweight Formwork system for infill. 

We plan to build 5000 houses during the first year of operation and establish and scale up to 10 additional factories producing 50,000 houses in the next five years. According to World Bank estimates, in the housing production industry, we can project to create   directly and indirectly about 250,000 jobs based on 50,000-unit project delivery over the next 5 years. The above job creation will encourage sovereign governments, local banks and multilateral financial organizations and development finance institutions to provide affordable and reduced mortgage rates for additional rapid construction of affordable homes and additional job creation.

We count the number of affordable houses delivered to our customers.

ABSI anticipates to create 100 franchised robotic steel framing affordable housing production and manufacturing factories across the US and in Sub-Sahara Africa within 5 years that will be producing millions of high quality sustainable houses. These will produce affordable housing and human dignity to communities that have been underserved in the past.  

We are firmly committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and fair organization. We employ people with different cultures, especially people from historically marginalized communities. Our robotic factory technology is gender neutral and tends to correct the marginalization of women and people of color in the construction industry. Our affordable housing solution will target first time homeowners especially women and people of color.

In Emerging markets like Nigeria, our business model is B2G, B2B and B2NGO model. We plan to sale large quantities of mixed-use affordable housing projects to staff of corporations, and their co-operative societies as well as government agencies and civil servants. The basic idea is to manufacture houses in a factory at scale with moderate margin or reduced margin on large number of houses sold. But in the USA, we plan on selling to individuals on a B2C basis. Partnerships and joint ventures will constitute some aspects of our business model. We plan to partner with stakeholders like governments, project developers, NGO's, contractors to deploy affordable housing projects at scale. Additional revenue will come from the sale and licensing of our factory prototypes to others. We will ensure that our intellectual property (IP) is protected legally. 

We have a project to deliver about 1000 units of 2 bedroom and 3bedroom affordable blocks of flats (Apartments) to civil servants (Co-operatives society) of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning in Abuja Nigeria. We plan to commence the construction of the initial 300 units in the next 2-3months. The project will be completed in about 18 months. our projected revenue of about Nine million US Dollars ($9,000,000.00).We plan to achieve financial sustainability through revenue generated from such sales of our affordable homes. The rapid and efficient production of houses in a factory setting at scale allows us to operate on reduced profit margins thereby making our homes affordable. Through our efforts and financial structuring, customers are able to access affordable mortgages to purchase our homes. Also, we are able to broker affordable finance for project developers in form of equity and loans. We make additional revenue in form of licensing fees from marketing and the sale of our factory prototype to others. 

We have so far built about 300 homes in Nigeria using our technology in a local factory over the last 5 years and have generated about five million US Dollars ($5,000,000.00) over that period. However, the above were prefabricated without robotics. The robotics and Lightweight concrete (CLC) are the new additional solutions to our factory that will make the different with efficiency and sustainability. The new project of about 2000 affordable mixed development is the main flagship project we have been working on over several years. it is just starting now because the road and other infrastructure to the site has just been funded after several years of delay.