HomeNewsroomPress releasesEast Tennessee Clayton Built® TRU® Off-Site Home Building Facilities Hit Major Milestones

East Tennessee Clayton Built® TRU® Off-Site Home Building Facilities Hit Major Milestones

October 15, 20202 min read

TRU® Halls celebrates 50 years, TRU® White Pine celebrates 25 years of building Clayton Built® homes for families

MARYVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 15, 2020 – Clayton’s first off-site home building facility, TRU® Halls, celebrates half a century of business and TRU® White Pine, another East Tennessee facility, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

TRU Halls, formerly Clayton Halls, opened in 1970 when Clayton first began building off-site built homes, also known as manufactured homes. In 2012, the TRU brand was formed as part of the Clayton Home Building Group® family of brands, with a focus to empower home buyers on the value of homeownership. There are now six TRU building facilities serving 31 states across the country. TRU White Pine is the largest home building facility constructing the TRU floor plan line.

Each TRU home building facility constructs off-site built homes ranging from 765 sq. ft. to just over 2,000 sq. ft. TRU home building facilities efficiently lower costs around home building by using innovative, lean production processes while focusing on producing an exclusive number of TRU floor plans. In 2019, the two home building facilities constructed over 4,800 homes that were delivered to 18 states.

“There is a crucial need for affordable housing across the country, where the average cost of a new single-family home with land is approaching $400,000[1]. We are dedicated to making the dream of homeownership attainable for as many people as possible,” said Mike Duncan, VP of TRU Operations. “At TRU, our team members continuously work hard to provide one of the most affordable, quality homes Clayton offers.”

About Clayton Home Building Group

Founded in 1956, Clayton is committed to opening doors to a better life and building happyness® through homeownership. As a diverse builder committed to quality and durability, Clayton offers traditional site-built homes and off-site built housing – including modular homes, manufactured homes, CrossMod® homes, tiny homes, college dormitories, military barracks and apartments. All Clayton Built® homes are proudly designed and constructed in America. In 2022, Clayton built 62,620 homes across the country. Clayton is a Berkshire Hathaway company. For more information, visit claytonhomes.com.*CrossMod is a registered trademark of the Manufactured Housing Institute. *

Combined, nearly 500 team members are employed at the two home building facilities, 52 of those team members have dedicated 20 or more years to helping construct Clayton Built® homes for many families and individuals not only in and around East Tennessee, but also surrounding states.

“Our goal is to provide a world class experience for our homeowners, and we are extremely proud of our TRU team members who support this important initiative, especially during this crucial time when so many families are looking for reliable, attainable homeownership.” said Blake Ryman, TRU Halls and White Pine Plant Manager. “We understand that our team members are our company’s most important asset and we strive to create an environment that supports them first.”

Over the last four years, Clayton Home Building Group has made several upgrades to its home building facilities across the nation. TRU White Pine was the fourth to complete its renovation in 2019, with TRU Halls adopting similar renovations at the beginning of this year. The two facilities upgraded offices, meeting spaces and cafeterias to enhance their team member experience.

During a time when events and celebrations must be postponed or cancelled for the health and safety of team members, the teams were able to mark the milestones with alternative celebrations like catered lunches, t-shirts and congratulatory messages from leaders.

For more information about TRU, visit www.owntru.com

[1] Census.gov, Monthly New Residential Sales, June 2020 https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf