KraussMaffei is today unveiling a world innovation in affordable prefabricated houses. The houses can be efficiently produced in high volume on a KraussMaffei double-belt press and assembled in a few days. This innovation represents a sustainable way of meeting escalating demand for affordable housing in emerging and third-world countries as they become increasingly urbanized. Innovative concept for high-volume production “KraussMaffei is known and recognized throughout the plastics and rubber machinery industry for its high-end, innovative process solutions. As populations in emerging and third-world countries continue to rise, this innovative concept for prefabricated houses is an efficient, cost-effective and sustainable way to create affordable housing,” said Dr. Dietmar Straub, CEO of KraussMaffei AG.
 
The concept is unique for the staged manner in which the houses are made. Using a simple base module comprising a double-belt press, manufacturers can produce about 1-2 houses per day, or about 500 a year. To meet higher demand, they can scale up to a continuous production line capable of producing anywhere from 2000 to 10,000 units a year. Each prefabricated house has a floor-space of just 30 square meters and provides space for a family of five, he added. The wall and ceiling panels are well insulated, creating a comfortable living environment and the house can be fitted out with solar panels to render it self-sufficient in energy.
 
Modular house that can be adapted to regional characteristics The prefabricated house consists of only a few different modular panels of the kind found in industry, warehouses and cold stores. “Made to flexible grid dimensions, the wall and ceiling panels comprise an insulating core of polyurethane foam sandwiched between steel facings and are produced on one of our double-belt presses. One particular advantage is that the manufacturer can freely vary the materials to suit local availability. Local requirements and country-specific vagaries regarding production and style can thus be respected,” said Frank Peters, head of Reaction Process Machinery at KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH. For example, the top layer can be of aluminum and the insulating core of mineral wool, depending on whatever material is easier and cheaper to source locally. Equally, other materials such as OSB wood panels, MAG boards, extruded decorative panels or glassfiber-reinforced boards can be used.

Prefabrication by the manufacturer eliminates the cutting to size that is usually done on site. The manufacturer delivers a complete house on one pallet, ready to be assembled on site. The only tools needed for assembly are screwdrivers and wrenches. “The combination of fully automated production of the panels on one hand and a high degree of manual labor for picking, compiling, pre-assembly and interior and exterior outfitting on the other makes for an overall viable concept,” said
Peters.

A mobile concept for use anywhere in the world
The fact that production can be implemented in a “mobile factory” will benefit developing regions. When demand in one region has been met, the system can be simply moved to another. A variant of the mobile factory is that of the “floating factory,” in which production of the panels is transferred to a factory ship for emergency responses to regional disasters. On site, it only be necessary to have a hall for pre-assembly and assembly, which would provide aid agencies new scope for quickly creating housing that would enable people in disaster areas to live in dignity.
 
(PU2PU)