Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI), the province’s business development agency, has been doing its part to enable businesses to adapt, increase export opportunities, and go on to thrive. Premium modular home designer and manufacturer Lloyoll Prefabs in Brooklyn, N.S. is an example.
“NSBI helps companies invest in themselves with tools and other supports for companies to adopt digital and e-commerce solutions – these were the right fit for Lloyoll,” says Laurel Broten, NSBI President and CEO.
Jonathan Lloy, Lloyoll President, says his company combines the advantages of a modern modular home production facility with fine craft, architecture and attention to detail to construct beautiful and carefree homes.
“Our BackCountry product line acknowledges the market trend for millennials and baby-boomers alike who will not compromise on quality and place a high value on customization – attributes they identify with,” says Lloy.
The homes are designed to complement natural settings and are environmentally friendly with on- and off-grid options.
“The uniqueness of highly customized products means there is no repetition to our process, creating a scenario where customers and designers are constantly re-inventing the wheel,” explained Lloy.
Image: submitted.
That posed challenges in the face of Lloyoll’s opportunity to scale up and export its highly customized homes. Prior to 2017, Lloyoll Prefabs had sales within Nova Scotia, but no export sales to other provinces or countries. That quickly changed after they began working with NSBI in 2019.
The company needed to understand its data better to improve its e-commerce and increase awareness of its brand on an international scale.
“Manufacturing and logistics are within our realm of expertise, but e-commerce is an area we recognize we need expert help to develop solutions that solve the problems of today and anticipate the potential problems for tomorrow,” Lloy says.
With NSBI’s help and programs, Lloyoll Prefabs focused on learning and understanding technologies that enhance its offering to customers. A good example is Lloyoll Prefabs’ Online Home Configurator and Sales Platform, which gives customers the ability to select and customize features for their home. This replaces the stress of building a new home with the experience of shopping for a home.
And the company created its own CSA Group-certified Quality Program Manual, allowing Lloyoll to regulate and fabricate finished homes in its 20,000-square-foot Brooklyn factory. The company is then able to deliver finished products to larger markets from its rural Queens County location, keeping Lloyoll Prefabs in a niche market within the industry of fine home building.
“It allows us to focus resources on production, while the online tools streamline customer services over a far larger area and improves the quality of leads that our sales team will pursue,” said Lloy. “Early modelling, using the same resources, suggests we have increased production output by 30 per cent when offering products featured in the BackCountry product line.”
Lloy says it’s been exciting to receive positive and enthusiastic feedback on Lloyoll Prefabs’ products continent-wide.
As labour and the workforce continues to evolve in the aftermath of the pandemic, companies that can adapt to a digital landscape and invest in technology, research and modern equipment have an advantage.
“In this labour market meeting demand has vaulted to the front of our challenges. With NSBI’s help we are focused on understanding technologies that will maximize our available labour and continue to grow at pace,” he says.
Most recently, NSBI’s Innovation Rebate Program – a successful pilot program – has become an ongoing, permanent program as of this spring with extra emphasis on sustainability. Broten says her organization also offers the Productivity & Innovation Voucher Program (PIVP), which helps small and medium-sized companies tap expertise within Nova Scotia post-secondary institutions to develop a new product, service, or process, and create growth.
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To learn more about Lloyoll visit www.lloyoll.com or reach out at info@lloyoll.com
