ZenniHome celebrates one year in new location
“This facility (NGS) took out enough scrap steel to build 6,500 Zenni homes. And we’re buying steel that was recycled from this facility.”
Bob Worsley, entrepreneur and co-founder of ZenniHome, is celebrating a milestone. Last year on December 15th, the company announced its partnership with the Navajo Nation and finalized an emergency operating agreement to begin business on the site of the now closed Navajo Generating Station (NGS).
“Think about that: you take down a coal plant, and you build 6,500 homes on the Navajo Nation from the steel that was in this facility,” he said. “This is a resurrection of coming back to Navajo Generating Station and going back to work to build something else,” said Worsley, during its first-anniversary celebration at the site earlier this month.
ZenniHome, previously operating out of Quanzhou, China, had to face many changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have units there being built, and guess what? Covid happened, and ships couldn’t get here from China,” Worsley explained.
With constant interruptions to the global supply chain, the company started looking for a location in the U.S. that would be central for shipping the prefabricated houses. With the pre-existing warehouses of the NGS, the Lechee/Page, Arizona sits at a strategic location in the four-corners region. With major population centers like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Salt Lake City only a couple hours drive away, Worsley and his ZenniHome team are excited about the opportunity.
“It’s relatively close to Albuquerque and Denver, and we can hit the West Coast with one truck day,” he said.
ZenniHome currently employs 65 people, 55 being Diné and 7 holding management positions. The company’s current annual payroll is $4 million, expecting to double going into 2023.
LeChee Chapter President Joann Yazzie-Pioche said she’s thankful to see many of the Diné from the area working at ZenniHome.
“When NGS went down, we lost a lot of jobs,” Yazzie-Pioche said. “It’s good that (ZenniHome) has come to our community. We’d like to see more (businesses), and we’re trying to work on that with the county.”
The gap left by the closure of NGS is slowly being closed by companies like ZenniHome to bring back jobs, income, and now housing to Navajo Nation. The homes manufactured here will be compatible with on-site solar powering, starlink internet, and other modern conveniences.
“These things are very interesting,” Worsley said. “Twin beds for your kids in one room. A nice big bed in another room. It can turn into a sofa and turn into an office. And we’re operating on a Starlink system just like the Ukrainians.
“We can do that on any home,” he added. “Put solar, batteries, and inverters on every home. We can do atmospheric harvesting on every home, and you can live comfortably anywhere on the Navajo Nation without any infrastructure.”
ZenniHome’s company website offers a lot of detail in their home fabrication options; from the $75,000 320 sq. Ft. ‘Denizen’ model and $100,000 640 sq. ft. ‘Citizen’ model, to the stackable 7-story ‘Zen City’ option for urban planners and developers. Here is their website:
https://zennihome.com/
More information from Navajo Times:
https://navajotimes.com/biz/home-factory-slated-for-ngs-property/
https://navajotimes.com/biz/zennihome-at-decommissioned-ngs-site-celebrates-first-anniversary/
TUESDAY, 20 DECEMBER 2022