Expert voice: 3 questions to James Moutaouadhia, co-director of Deltamod

Why did you create a brand dedicated to the occasion?

First, the creation of the brand Occamod is a logical follow-up to the development of our society Deltamod. We have been reconditioning modular buildings for 5 years now to give them a second life and extend their use. On the strength of this experience, we realized that not all modular units systematically needed reconditioning, synonymous with even minimal waste.

Reuse has become obvious from the moment we meet the needs of the user and the latter accepts the imperfections of a second-hand building. It is the “small” price to pay to go even further in a common eco-responsible approach. Occamod therefore naturally imposed itself in our strategy.

Explain to us the approach and the benefit of the Occamod brand?

Today, the sale of used modular buildings is unknown. This represents around 50.000 m² and often concerns small areas of 5 to 200 m². Now, if we look around, reconditioning, recycling and reuse are shared in all sectors, in technology, automotive, ... and the awareness is real. Now, it is necessary to associate and support this behavioral change with expertise and real service in the overall project. We have developed with our company Deltamod dismantling, transport and transfer, reassembly and of course renovation skills. In our view, this is a key success factor for the re-employment market. We must anticipate, explain, reassure the user on the merits of our approach in order to stop the systematic destruction of this type of building. It is our fight and our daily job but also the future…

What are the expected changes?

On paper, European and French regulations are very clear in environmental matters: reuse must be favored over the production of waste. Whether it is the European Directive 2008/98 of November 19, 2008 which prioritizes the waste management methods to be favored where Order No. 2010-1579 of December 17, 2010 relating to waste, reuse comes first before reuse and recycling in the hierarchy of actions to be implemented.

Now, on the ground, modular buildings are often managed in the same way as “hard” buildings with demolition tenders in complete contradiction with the regulations in force.

The modular buildings are removable, transportable and re-adaptable, they have no reason to end up in landfill. I would also add the work of manufacturers who use quality materials and respectful of the environment which allow to extend the service life.

Too often we observe this reflex for convenience or lack of information. But we are also seeing positive progress with the law on the circular economy, recently presented to Parliament.

The economic, ecological and societal benefits of reconditioning and reuse are very real and I am convinced that the brand Occamod will bring its little stone to the building!