Alaska Business Comes To Vermillion

VERMILLION, SD - At just about two days, It does not take this electrician long to wire an entire modular home.  Efficiency like this is what helps transform a wooden skeleton into a fully finished home in just 12 days.

The first Builders Choice modular home from the new Vermillion site is not staying in town too long because it is heading north to the oil rigs in western North Dakota

"We're right next to the interstate, so put it on the road and get it there in a day's time," Foreman for Builders Choice Aaron Brown said.

The oil patch in North Dakota may be booming, but housing for workers is not.

"They're going to be able to put people into homes instead of having them sleep in their cars and it will give them a good place to sleep," Builders Choice President Mark Larson said.

The $80,000 units have all the comforts of home: a refrigerator, stove and kitchen sink.  Of course, one cannot forget about the necessities.

"There's flat screen TVs and places to plug X-boxes into," Larson said.

Not only are these units going to put oil boom workers in homes, they are keeping people in Vermillion in the workplace.

"We're always looking for jobs in the southeast part of the state. We're kind of behind everyone else like the Sioux Falls area. It would be nice to have more jobs down here," Brown said.

Brown is just one of the 37 local employees at Builders Choice. Up to 15 more jobs could be added. If you are wondering why an Alaska-based company is interested in South Dakota, Larson said you'll find the answer in these South Dakota workers and Vermillion.

"It was a natural fit for us to come from Alaska where people build arctic-type housing. People down here know how to build that housing in a way that is going to hold up," Larson said.