Recipients of Builder of the Year and NHQ Awards
Alliance members have picked up several major industry awards over the past year. Four of them are profiled in the October and November issues of Professional Builder, including DSLD Homes (LA, MS), Charter Homes (PA), Schumacher Homes (IN, KY, LA, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA and WV) and Wathen-Castanos Hybrid Homes (Clovis, CA).
It was announced in the November 2011 issue of Professional Builder that DSLD Homes had won the publication's Builder of the Year award. The in-depth profile covered president Saun Sullivan's (pictured right) founding of the company in the midst of the housing recession and the keys to their success, including strong relationships with partners, their use of an "even flow" building model, and their commitment to consistent quality.
Charter Homes, Schumacher Homes and Wathen-Castanos Hybrid Homes all were 2011 National Housing Quality Award (NHQ) winners. Sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center and Professional Builder, the NHQ awards are modeled after the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award and recognize achievem
ent in total quality management.
Last year, Wathen-Castanos (pictured left) received the Bronze NHQ award. This year, they received the Silver, partly for the way owners Kevin Castanos and Richard Wathen enabled the company's directors, managers and executives to take more responsibility, while the owners provided review. The quality management planning the company underwent in 2009 and 2010 helped them focus on the long-term goals, said VP of Marketing and Communications Laura Mather.
Charter Homes (pictured right) received the Silver NHQ award, its second NHQ award in 2 years, in part for "offering timely designs that exactly meet their markets." This is the second NHQ Silver awards for Charter. Again, the commitment to quality management and technical performance laid the groundwork for other goals, in this case an increased focus on market research and design. CEO Rob Bowman cites his trades' "policing" of each other's work, ensuring that quality standards are maintained.
Schumacher Homes (pictured left) received the Bronze NHQ award for "real-time design and pinpoint-accurate estimating," which gives it an edge in the custom homebuilding market by offering customers "a custom home at virtually any price range." The work they've done in value engineering and the tight control over costs has helped them remain profitable and growing. President Paul Schumacher said he knows within a 1% variance what every house he builds will cost.
The Alliance extends its congratulations to all its winning members, who continue to set examples with their commitment to Quality + Performance.
For more information on the NHQ Awards, visit www.housingzone.com/professionalbuilder/nhqa.
