We’ve appointed a range of approved manufacturers to our MMC Category 1 framework and MMC Category 2 DPS. In this series we ask our manufacturing partners to introduce themselves.
Etopia
Based in London with national coverage, Etopia is a MMC company that designs, manufactures, delivers and installs a panelised build system, empowering housing associations and local authorities to deliver high quality, low carbon homes that exceed Future Homes Standards. They employ 50 people in their two UK factories and over the last five years, Etopia have delivered over 60 MMC homes across the UK, Namibia and the USA.
We asked head of business development, Nicola Clayton to tell us a bit more about Etopia.
What’s different about your company culture?
Collaboration! We work for and with our customers to help them understand our system and to ensure they get the most out of it. Rationalising designs to better suit our standard panels might mean a potential change of 10 mm but it can save on costs. We can also help you identify cost and time savings on delivery programmes, skips, scaffolding and external facades. We also support you in your planning applications, marketing materials and anything that a customer needs to revise, following the adoption of our system.
If you had to shout about one thing around the design of your homes, what would it be?
The fact that our system already exceeds the Future Homes Standard which means it is future proof! The performance is due to the incredible U-Value of 0.14 W/m2k and airtightness of 0.32m3/hr/m2@50Pa. Because the panel is so efficient, homes built using our system achieve an EPC A score with a heat pump and solar panels, in many cases scoring over 100, significantly reducing energy bills and carbon.
How long has your business been delivering MMC homes?
Etopia has been delivering homes for five years. We’ve built homes in Namibia and the USA and we are expanding into Saudi Arabia. Joseph Daniels, our founder has a really powerful story and experienced fuel poverty, homelessness and poor quality housing himself. That inspired him to set up Etopia. Our investors, the Reuben Brothers and the Fink family continue to support us to get to our target to delivery thousands of homes a year.
How do you think MMC will be regarded by the social housing sector in 10 years?
The introduction of the Future Homes Standard will help to mainstream MMC, and we should be way past the pilot stage of MMC sites of 5 – 10 units. I really hope that within 10 years we will stop referring to MMC as MMC as it won’t be modern, and we will be more receptive to alternative ways to deliver the 300,000 high quality efficient homes that we need to deliver annually.
Find out more about Etopia
Nicola Clayton is head of business development at Etopia
09 February 2023
Membership of Building Better is open to any housing association or local authority housing provider in England and Wales.
