09/21/11 The first four-unit “man-camp” rolled off the assembly line at Stone Creek Homes on Tuesday morning as the entire workforce clapped. Production on the new concept model of housing for the gas and oil industry began in the former Shamrock Homes plant on Markley Drive in Plymouth on August 5. They began with only nine employees working on it and have now increased that number to 28 hourly employees. In total, the company has 35 employees.
Dave Ferguson, president & CEO of Stone Creek ,said, “It’s a little emotional for me.” Ferguson was raised in Plymouth and has made his way for the past 38 years all over the United States in the business world. However, he said he still feels a connection to the Shamrock facility where he worked as a teenager sweeping floors.
Eventually, they plan to manufacture eight units each week. Currently there are seven more homes on the manufacturing lines.
The units feature four separate rooms, complete with kitchens, bathrooms, and sleeping accommodations. The design allows for a washer/dryer area that is shared by all.
Ferguson said he came up with the concept that he knows will be very popular. He said, “The old style “man-camp” usually had bunk beds that slept six in a room.”
The unit loaded on the flatbed truck on Tuesday is headed for North Dakota. Ferguson said they have contracts for nine more units already for the area along with another 13 to be transported to Texas. Ferguson said, “It is a blessing.” Workers on the gas and oil lines often work for several weeks out in the fields, and usually in areas without hotels nearby. Ferguson said the new type units will make their lives a little easier and their time off more pleasant.
Ferguson said he was fortunate to get to go to college on a football scholarship. He said, “Now my role is to pay forward and help create jobs.”
He and his wife make their home in Madison, Miss. Locally, they have a home on Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver.
Carol Anders Correspondent
