“There is a saying that building a detached house makes you age 10 years, reflecting the low level of service and construction quality that remain customers' pain points. We aim to expand and develop the detached housing market by enhancing customer trust through differentiated design, reasonable pricing, and thorough defect repair responsibility.” (Nam Kyung-ho, CEO of Jaigaist)
At the Jaigaist press conference held on the 13th, Nam Kyung-ho, CEO of Jaigaist, is explaining the business. [Photo by Kwak Min-jae]
On the 13th, GS Engineering & Construction held a press conference at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, announcing that its wooden modular housing specialized subsidiary, ‘Jaigaist,’ has launched its website and officially started B2C (Business To Consumer) sales. Jaigaist is a company wholly owned by GS Engineering & Construction since 2020, specializing in modular detached houses using prefab construction methods. Sample houses of two main models, 35-pyeong and 54-pyeong types, have been set up at the wooden modular production factory located in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do.
The modular houses supplied by Jaigaist have the advantage of securing uniform quality by producing the structural components in a factory. Additionally, by minimizing on-site processes, they can be supplied in as little as two months (excluding design and permit periods). At the press conference, it was explained that customers can enjoy the premium of the Xi brand in the wooden modular houses supplied by Jaigaist.
Jaigaist established a specialized modular design office called ‘Jaigaist Architects Office’ and, over the past two years, prepared about 50 standard modules through modular technology research and floor plan development. General homeowners design their houses by combining these modules according to the shape of the land and internal floor plan configuration, and after completing the module design, proceed with house construction through a building contract.
On this day, Jaigaist unveiled a representative prototype among the standard model combinations, along with a program called ‘Jaigaist Configurator (XG Configurator)’ that allows customers to directly combine modules. This program, accessible via the Jaigaist website, enables customers to complete a product by combining pre-prepared modules, providing great convenience in detached house design by allowing customers to preview spatial feel and floor plans. The XG Configurator has completed beta testing and will soon be released on the Jaigaist website.
Jaigaist also introduced the ‘Tiny House ADU,’ composed of a single 9-pyeong module. This product is designed for prospective homeowners who find it difficult to secure construction funds initially; they can install the ADU as a second house and later expand by adding additional modules.
Meanwhile, the ‘Prefab Business Group’ of GS Engineering & Construction’s Future Innovation Division led the new business sector with sales of approximately 610 billion KRW last year. This success is attributed to the performance of Danwood, a Polish modular housing specialist acquired in 2020, Elements Europe Ltd., a UK steel modular specialist, and GPC, a precast concrete specialized subsidiary established in 2020. This year, the full-scale launch of Jaigaist’s detached housing B2C business is expected to further accelerate growth.
Jaigaist has set a goal to achieve a 3% market share in the detached housing market within the next five years. CEO Nam stated, “The current production capacity of the Dangjin factory in Chungnam is about 300 units per year. If additional sites such as the Asan factory are secured, we can build up to 1,200 units annually, aiming to achieve sales of 200 billion KRW within 4 to 5 years.”
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