A factory that once produced cigarettes by the truckload is now turning out affordable flat pack housing with an eye to tripling production by the end of the year.

EasyBuild director Mike Fox said the Masterton company liked to call itself the Ikea of the New Zealand housing sector, with the ability to build homes with "semi-skilled" labour.

The factory can turn out a house a day, with the ability to double that by adding another shift. House packages start at $75,000 which includes fittings and appliances.

PETE NIKOLAISON Masterton flat pack home construction business EasyBuild now has showhomes in Fraser St.

"There is no need to be looking overseas for some untested whiz bang answer as we have a Kiwi solution right here in regional New Zealand," Fox said.

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Their construction method used a high degree of prefabrication that enabled their houses to be built twice as fast as conventional housing at 30 per cent less cost, he said.

PIERS FULLER/STUFF From left, Labour MP Kieran McAnulty, Minister for building and construction Jenny Salesa, EasyBuild director Mike Fox, and Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta at the EasyBuild factory in Masterton.

"When builders switch to our product they basically double their output with the same size team."

Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa was in Wairarapa on Wednesday to attend the launch of EasyBuild open homes and take a tour of the factory, which is putting itself forward to provide cheap houses for the Government's KiwiBuild initiative.

"We're here because we as a Government are committed to addressing the housing crisis," Salesa said.

PIERS FULLER/STUFF A high degree of prefabrication makes the buildings easy to erect.

The Government was looking at various ways the sector could encourage production to meet the demand, and pre-fabricated housing could be part of the solution.

"We're reaching out to various innovative people, including EasyBuild homes, to assist us with this," she said.

Most of the plant's timber is sourced locally with two of the region's biggest mills, Kiwi Lumber and JNL, producing the construction products.

PIERS FULLER/STUFF Director Luke Ryan's father Dennis Ryan came up with the concept in the 1980s. He is pictured in an EasyBuild showhome at the launch on Wednesday.

Another environmentally-friendly advantage touted by EasyBuild is that they produce a fraction of the waste of a conventional house build, and the houses can be assembled by semi-skilled labourers.

Currently employing 20 workers, Fox believes they could triple that number by the end of the year if they manage to secure more commercial, KiwBuild or social housing contracts.

Masterton Mayor Lyn Patterson said the factory would bring a range of benefits to the region including providing local employment, fuelling the economy by using local products and providing training opportunities.

Co-director Luke Ryan's father Dennis Ryan was the brains behind the design system which he developed in the 1980s after travelling to Sweden and other parts of Europe to research building methods.

Several hundred homes were built with the modular design system in the 80s, but as house design moved toward bigger more bespoke homes the system was put on hold.

Three years ago, at Dennis Ryan's urging, the EasyBuild system concept was resurrected and re-engineered for modern standards to cater for the present building environment which required affordable and easy-to-construct homes.

* House pack prices start from $75,000 plus gst and include consent drawings and all materials from the floor up including, kitchen, plumbing fittings and appliances.