The College has most likely agreed to train COBOD 3D home printer purchasers nationwide.
Dr. Lisa Rhine, in an internal televised address to the Yavapai Community College faculty during the first week of November, announced that the College “has now become a partner” with the COBOD Corporation. COBOD is an acronym for “Construction of Buildings on Demand.”
The November announcement came on the heels of September’s enthusiastic pitch to the District Governing Board about partnering with COBOD given by the Dean of Career and Technical Education, John Mogan, and others. It was suggested that the College might agree to a five-year training partnership contract of some sort. However, at the time Morgan spoke to the Governing Board, he cautioned that “we’re not quite there yet with financials on how this whole deal will come together.” The parties apparently reached a mutually satisfactory arrangement. The terms of the agreement have not been made public.
COBOD was formed in 2017. It has its International Headquarters in Copenhagen, and corporate offices in Florida, Kuwait, and Thailand. The company has targeted annual U.S. sales of 40 3D house robotic printer machines. It claims to have already printed 41 homes in the United States, 5 in Latin America, 17 in Africa, 17 in the Middle East, 22 in Europe, and 28 in Asia in 2022.
The College presenters indicated at the September Board meeting that Yavapai Community College would train new buyers of the expensive machines nationally. Currently, according to the College, the training occurs in Copenhagen, Denmark and it takes six weeks. It was claimed that by locating training in the U.S., the cost will be significantly reduced.