Canada's federal housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), reports that its experts are continually fielding questions from housing industry professionals who are anxious about the state of trade relations with Canada's largest trading partner, the United States. From CMHC's viewpoint, the key question is: Do Canadian companies in the housing industry have what it takes to compete internationally?

The current state of the U.S. economy, coupled with tariffs on Canadian lumber exports, have many people wondering whether Canadian companies can expand into and survive in the U.S. market. According to CMHC, one answer to this question is found in the success of a Canadian company, Lange-Con, whose experiences over the past five years demonstrate the potential that exists.

In 1997, Lange-Con completed a total of 15 houses in the Washington area. Since then, the company has increased its U.S. sales nearly sixfold, shipping one or two homes from its factory each day.

Lange-Con, short for Lange Construction, was founded in 1983 as a construction firm concerned only with framing and on-site construction, but in recent years the company has shifted its focus to incorporate the entire home. The thinking behind this move was that the house should operate as a complete system, with each of the separate parts working together to form a whole. As a result Lange-con expanded its product line to include prefabricated and panellized housing, designing, manufacturing and shipping entire houses from the company's headquarters in Kelowna, B.C.

Here is how Lange-Con handled some of the many challenges to U.S. expansion that Canadian companies face;

Published: January 13, 2004

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