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 How to Become a Force 10 Dealer Thank you for your interest in becoming a Force 10 Dealer. You will find that this is the best panelized building system designed for constructing hurricane and earthquake resistant homes in the Caribbean Basin and Latin America. It is also the ideal system to complete large projects on a tight schedule and budget such as affordable housing projects, schools, hospitals, medical clinics, government offices and resorts. I do not know of another building system on the market today that is as well designed, engineered, or as complete as the Force 10 system. I urge you to visit the Force 10 homes on St. John and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Aruba, Antigua or Montserrat to see the advantages of this modern building technology. Force 10 Dealerships are awarded to building professionals who can demonstrate the ability to learn a new building technology, produce a quality finished product and "make it happen". As a result of our experience in the Caribbean Region, we require the Dealer to construct a model that displays the Force 10 products. The model can be a home or a sales office/ residence for the Dealer. We have found that because we are dealing with a revolutionary new concept in an industry that is slow to change, the best way to convince potential clients that the Force 10 System has many advantages, yet looks the same as conventional construction once finished, is to build a model. There will always be people who will refuse to try something new, but you will find a very receptive client base once you have finished a Force 10 home. I have been building in the Caribbean for over twenty-five years and fourteen years ago built my first Force 10 home because I felt that we needed a better building technology after assessing the damage of Hurricane Hugo. Once the first home was assembled, the response was positive and we are now building Force 10 homes exclusively. Now that we have 20 custom designed homes completed on St. John, Force 10 is a respected and well-known name in this area. Since all of our homes survived the fury of Hurricanes Luis, Marilyn, Bertha and Georges without any structural damage, many people who said, "how will your homes do in a real hurricane?", are now convinced that this is a good way to build. When I show them the variety of finishes available, the custom designed floor plans and the benefits of the Force 10 homes, they understand that this new concept has significant advantages over conventional construction. People need to touch and feel the finished product, not just see the pictures in a brochure. As a Dealer, you will be granted exclusive territory for your area and will be given a commission on all Force 10 products that you sell or purchase. Force 10 stands behind their product with a 10 year structural warranty, an engineering certification and a product component warranty. We require that all Force 10 structural components are assembled by a building crew trained in the proper assembly procedures. Force 10 is an ISO 9001 Certified Quality Assurance manufacturer. The quality assurance procedures start at the factory with the high quality materials chosen for the components and carries through the manufacturing process all the way to the assembly of every Force 10 kit. As a new Dealer, you will participate in a training program that will teach your building crew how to assemble the Force 10 component kits properly. A highly qualified and experienced Trainer will be sent to assist the new agent when the first containerized shipment arrives. The training period typically takes two to three weeks on a moderate sized home and is required on the first Force 10 project in a new market. Force 10 requires that the Dealer supply the building site with the necessary tools that the workers will use to assemble the components. The cost for the trainer's wages, airfare, accommodations and meals will be paid, in full, by the new Dealer. Force 10 homes have never lost a roof anywhere in the world and we build almost exclusively in the hurricane belt. Force 10 can produce and ship small or large component packages to any location in the world. We can charter a ship to deliver these homes directly to you from the factory, or ship by container through the usual routes. The component packages can be assembled and finished quickly to suit your time schedule. Financing is available through the Australian Export Finance and Insurance Corporation. We can assist you in bidding on any project that you are considering (see Financing). Quick Assembly on Large Projects: If you assemble a trainable and willing workforce, as well as the required subcontractors for electrical, plumbing, tile installation and painting, you can finish one Force 10 home in six weeks after beginning either the first concrete slab or our pre-cut steel floor system. Your crews will be able to complete one home every working day after. This will allow you to complete 100 homes in less than six months if the subcontractors and other suppliers can keep up with the schedule. With a larger crew you can build 500 homes in six months. The Force 10 factory can easily supply the homes you need as fast as you want them. We will also supply the trainers and a skilled assembly team to help you get your project up to speed. The Force 10 System is easy to learn and requires fewer skilled professionals to complete. The Australian Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (E.F.I.C.) E.F.I.C. will finance the Australian content of Force 10 projects to qualified borrowers for projects of a minimum of US $2,000,000. The E.F.I.C. scheme is designed to help governments and developers obtain the financing necessary to get large projects started if capital is tight or costly in their locality. Examples of projects eligible for E.F.I.C. financing: 1) Government Offices The E.F.I.C. scheme will finance 85% of all Australian content including shipping and Australian supplied labor if needed. The loan cannot be used to finance local mortgages. A 15% deposit is required upon application which is held in Escrow pending approval and is fully refundable. Initial applications are approved in 30 days and final approval takes 90 days. The loan period can be up to 10 years and carries either a fixed rate or a floating L.I.B.O.R. rate. Payments are due every 6 months in arrears. A Bank Guarantee is required from an approved Bank. To optimize the loan conditions, you should order as much Australian content as possible. Ordering a large number of component packages will save considerably on shipping costs. We can charter a ship to deliver 100-150 homes at a time, which will reduce shipping costs 25% to 40%. Introducing Force 10 into a New Market These are issues that need to be addressed whenever a new Dealer introduces the Force 10 Building System to a new location. 1) Force 10 Building Solutions Presentation: We typically schedule several full scale presentations during our trips to new markets. I will bring material samples, drawings, slides, slide projector and videos so that we can cover the full range of questions that are usually asked. We would need a conference room with chairs, tables, slide projector and screen, VCR and television. The ideal time to cover most of the topics is about three hours. Typically, we rent a room for five hours total, to give us an hour to set up and an hour to pack up at the conclusion. We can provide material to hand out at the presentation. A hotel with a conference room is ideal for accommodations and the presentations. The best people to invite to the presentations are architects, builders, developers, realtors, bankers, insurers, government housing officials and public works officials. We can potentially do several presentations at different locations if necessary. If the government is interested, we can do a presentation just for their building inspectors, engineers and housing officials. We have had successful presentations on Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, Guyana, Montserrat, Nevis, St. John, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. The presentation is a good way to introduce the product and get the initial approvals from the necessary officials. The Dealer is responsible for written or faxed invitations, arranging for meeting rooms and insuring that the necessary equipment is available and working. 2) Model Sizes, Types and Designs: The Dealer will need information on the kind of homes people want, what is typically built locally, the expected budgets, amenities desired, cistern and septic requirements and the intended use for the structures. We typically find a local designer, engineer or architect to assist us in obtaining permits and creating appropriate designs. 3) Permit Process: Force 10 supplies building plans and standard details for all of their component packages and they may be sufficient for local building approval. A local designer/architect will help tremendously by familiarizing himself with the system components and assisting in obtaining the necessary building permits. The builder typically has someone he likes to work with and together they will make a good team. It is difficult for Force 10 to accomplish this without local involvement. We have received approvals in every location worldwide where we have introduced the Force 10 System because all of the engineering has been done and is documented. In each new area this process takes anywhere from one quick trip to the right officials to several months of persistent work and persuasion to get local officials to study, understand and then accept a new building technology. 4) On-Site Conditions: This information is essential for determining many of the design features and the construction process. Do we want to build the main floor with a concrete slab on grade or eight feet above grade to allow a hurricane storm surge to pass under the homes without damaging them, as is required in most coastal areas? Will the foundation be dug by hand or machine? What are the cistern and septic requirements? Will there be utility line power for the construction process or will the builder supply his own electricity with generators? How will the natural breezes and the position of the rooms relative to the sun determine the orientation of the building? 5) The Builder: He will have to take the responsibility of putting together a crew and dealing with the transportation issues with workers and materials from the closest port or town. The builder or his supervisors must be on site during the entire training process to insure that all of the assembly techniques are learned and will be taught to all workers. We will supply one or several trainers to teach his crew how to assemble the Force 10 components and techniques to increase productivity and accelerate the project's completion. 6) Material Delivery to Site: One 20' or one 40' container per house, depending on size, will need to be trucked to the parcels that will be built on. This will be for the Force 10 material only. The remaining material needed such as ceramic tile, paint, electrical fixtures, plumbing fixtures and rough-in materials, appliances, cement, water, gravel, sand and furniture will also need to be delivered to the site. Some of these finish materials can be supplied by Force 10 if desired, but typically they are supplied locally. As long as we have a way to get the materials by container to a nearby location and then, either in the containers or unloaded and carried by some other method, to the site, we will be able to build. |
Innovative Builders, Inc. ~ P.O. Box 1257, St John, USVI 00831-1257 ~ Email Us Tel: 1.340.693.7150 or Toll Free: 1.866.613.6723 ~ Fax: 1.340.693.8150 ~ Printer Friendly Format |
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