Langham Still Evolving as IT Executive at United-Bilt

Greg Langham, vice president and information technology manager for United-Bilt Homes Inc. of Springdale, said the best part about his job is the variety.

“I haven’t been stuck in a corner checking [system] backups for eight hours a day or writing code for a specific application,” he joked.

Indeed, the depths of Langham’s contributions to the privately held company run much deeper than that.

Langham, 43, has worked for UBH for two decades, and in that time he has helped the fully integrated company become one of the largest home builders in the state.

Founded in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1958 and owned by United Holding Co. of Springdale, UBH builds economical, custom homes for a niche of first-time home builders. But although it’s in a niche market, the company is fairly large.

Professional Builder magazine, a leading business publication for the home-building industry, announced the 2014 rankings of the nation’s largest builders in its May issue 2014 Housing Giants Report.

Of the 293 companies ranked, UBH — which operates 22 sales offices in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas — was at No. 158 based on 2013 housing revenue of $66.3 million, the company’s best-ever year, Langham said. That was up slightly from the company’s housing revenue of $64.3 million in 2012.

“We’re probably a bigger builder than some realize,” Langham said, adding there’s potential for an even bigger future, because of technology.

“Obviously, we have procedures and controls, but there’s a freedom to look at a process and figure out what is the best way to improve it by using technology, or sell more homes because of technology,” he said. “As a result, I’ve gotten a better understanding of how the whole company operates. Because of the role of technology, you can see how all the pieces fit together. That’s the best part.”

Langham was honored as part of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class in 2006. During a recent visit at his office inside the United Building, Langham said he “grew up” in IT, but as more processes and procedures have been implemented, his role with the company has evolved.

Langham oversees six employees, including those in marketing and accounts payable divisions.

“As we have implemented technology, we have tried to make sure our processes are streamlined,” he explained. “And it kind of made sense for the guy who implemented the processes from a technology standpoint to oversee the folks who were using it.”

Langham, a Fayetteville native, accepted a job offer with UBH in 1995, just before he graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville with a degree in computer systems engineering.

He has been fortunate that a hobby of his as a teenager — computers — has translated into an enjoyable career.

“It seemed logical to go to college and pick a degree that kind of matched a hobby,” he said. “It’s something I have always enjoyed doing. It’s never seemed like work.”

Working at UBH also gives Langham the opportunity to enjoy another hobby — flying. He became a licensed pilot his freshman year of college and frequently flies to several of the company’s branch offices.

Langham said UBH had 465 house closings in 2013 — more than half of those in Texas near Austin and San Antonio — and the company is thinking aggressively in terms of growth.

“We are working on a plan to get to 650,” he said. “A more realistic way of saying that is [building] an additional 20 houses a year to get to 650.

“We’re a family-owned company with a small-business environment, so we’re trying to grow without changing that feel.”

When not at the office, Langham, a past member of the planning commission for the city of Goshen and current member of the UBH board of directors, spends time with his wife and two sons, ages 15 and 12.

This time of year and during the summer, most of his weekends are taken up by youth baseball, as an assistant coach for his youngest son’s travel team, the Arkansas Bulldogs.