Breckenridge Texan

A new manufacturing company planning to hire an initial 45 to 50 local employees, increasing to a total of 200 to 300 workers in two to three years, is opening up on Breckenridge’s Industrial Loop in the building formerly occupied by Bold Ideas firearms manufacturing and before that Karsten Homes.

New Vision Plant Manager Andy Nauert said the diversified products that the facility will produce will help the business to weather the ups and downs of the manufactured housing industry. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation officially announced Monday morning that New Vision  Manufacturing Inc. will be opening a manufactured housing facility at 820 Industrial Loop.

The announcement was made at a press conference at the facility. On hand were BEDC Executive Director Virgil Moore, Breckenridge Mayor Bob Sims, the New Vision plant manager and production manager and a representative with the Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas, which will be assisting with the hiring of employees for the new business.

“We are happy y’all are here,” Sims said, as he welcomed the New Vision staff. “The City will do anything we can to help you, to make this grow, to make this work. We just want y’all here for a long time.”

New local jobs

The company, which began working to remodel the building earlier this summer, will start hiring this week with a two-day event from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 11-12.

The openings are for jobs in all departments, including carpentry, plumbing, electrical, frame shop, maintenance, exterior, cabinet shop, trim, back panels and final finish, and will include production workers and supervisors. According to the BEDC, no experience will be necessary and the starting hourly wage will be $13 per hour.

Steve Collins with Workforce Solutions said that as of Monday morning, at least 60 people were scheduled for interviews and more were expected to sign up. Additionally, walk-ins will be welcomed to fill out applications and interview for positions during the two-day hiring event.

“I think this facility is well capable of building eight to 10 homes a day,” New Vision Plant Manager Andy Nauert said. “That’ll take in excess of 200 employees to do that, probably closer to 225, maybe 250, and that’s not counting the office personnel. You could have another 10, 12, 15 people in the office, service managers, purchasing managers, support staff, and so on. We could get up to 250, maybe even 300.

“If business stays good – and we anticipate it being good for at least the next five years, and the oilfield housing is coming on strong – we’re going to try and diversify and build something for everybody so we can all stay in business and employ people,” he continued. “That’s a part of our responsibility here at New Vision is taking care of the community and taking care of the people, the employees. We pride ourselves on taking care of our employees, treating them right.”

The first hiring stage is expected to include up to 50 new employees.

About New Vision

The company has great expectations for the facility, Nauert said.

“We will be building economical housing,” he said. “We’re going to try and build an inexpensive product … we’re about affordable houses.”

Moore said one of the things he likes about New Vision is its diversity of products, which allow the company to weather the cyclical nature of the manufactured housing business.

“We’re kind of funny people ,” Nauert said. “We’ll build anything for anybody, whatever it takes to stay in business. We’re very diversified.”

The plant will build mostly modular housing for the oilfield, which will include heavy duty housing, aka “man camps.” Additionally, New Vision will build HUD homes and “tiny houses” and “park models,” which are RV park trailers that are similar to small mobile homes. All will be built to specific codes, Nauert said.

One thing that sets New Vision apart from its competitors, Nauert said, is that, rather than using the typical process of converting a mobile home, New Vision will build products specifically to the needs of the buyer. “It won’t be a HUD or it won’t be a modular,” he said. “It will be built super-strong for the oilfield business because they pull them around with cranes and bulldozers and everything else, so we will build a product specifically for them. And we think that will get us a ton of business, because there’s not very many people doing that at this point.”

The facility also will be used for refurbishing and repairing existing “man camp” housing.

The homes that will be made at the facility will be sold through dealers, the closest of which will likely be located in Abilene. However, Nauert said there will be someone at the New Vision plant who will be able to work with anyone who wants to buy one of the homes, including businesses that want to place large orders.

“If you need a home, we’ll figure out a way to get you a home,” he said.

New Vision has a small facility in Ada, Oklahoma, that mostly refurbishes the oilfield houses, he said. The Breckenridge plant will be the main manufacturing facility for the company.

“We look forward to working with the community,” said Bill Davidson, New Vision Production Manager. “It’s going to be a good thing for everybody.”

Breckenridge has been welcoming to the New Vision staff already, Davidson said. “This has been one of the friendliest towns I’ve ever been in,” he said. “Everybody that we come in contact with is just excited about us being here.”

The New Vision plant will be located in the facility that was formerly occupied by Bold Ideas firearms manufacturer and Karsten Homes. Plant Manager Andy Nauert says he expects the Breckenridge operation to eventually produce eight to 10 homes per day, requiring as many as 300 employees. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Story by Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline, top photo: Following the announcement on Monday about New Vision Manufacturing Inc. opening up on the Industrial Loop, the company’s management staff gave visitors a tour of the former Bold Ideas facility. New Vision will manufacture a variety of structures, including “man camps” for the oilfield, as well as “tiny homes” and HUD homes. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)