Michael Draper

Graduated from the University of Florida, Business Finance Major with a minor in Building Construction Management.

Current Position: Florida Division President, Palm Harbor Homes
Palm Harbor Homes is a National Company that specializes in Factory Built Homes, Multifamily and Commercial Buildings. The Company markets nationwide through vertically integrated operations, encompassing manufacturing, marketing, financing and insurance.

Member of the Advisory Council for the Florida Solar Energy Center
Member of Florida Green Building Coalition
Member of Polk County Builders Association
Member of National Association of Home Builders
Executive Member of Florida Manufactured Housing Association

With more than three decades of experience as a manager and leader in the building industry, Mr. Draper has extensive knowledge and expertise in lean production systems, value engineering, design, and energy efficiency in home building. Mr. Draper has held positions as Architectural Designer, Plant Engineer, Cost Accountant, Purchasing Manager, Vice President of Quality, and Division President. As the Florida Division President for Palm Harbor Homes, Mr. Draper has received numerous company awards including the coveted Palm Harbor Homes Beacon of Quality award for excellence in the areas of Total Quality Improvement, Energy Efficiency, Associate and Customer Satisfaction. As Division President, Mr. Draper led his team of over 750 associates that applied and won the Gold Level of the National Housing Quality Award. The National Housing Quality Award is based on the Malcolm Baldridge criteria and is presented by a panel of judges from the Research Center of the National Association of Home Builders. Mr. Draper has also been a leader in the company implementing Lean Manufacturing processes throughout his division. Lean Manufacturing, or Lean Production, is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination. Under Mr. Draper’s guidance, Palm Harbor Homes has built more Green Certified Homes than any other Factory Builder in the State of Florida and continues the company’s efforts to find ways to make green certified homes more affordable. Most recently, in February of 2009, Mr. Draper received a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Department of Energy for building and certifying the very first home in the newly formed DOE Builders Challenge program, a voluntary national energy savings program calling for the nation’s homebuilding industry to build 220,000 high performance energy efficient homes by 2012.