THE SHIELD March 2014
THE SPRING
RUN ISSUE
U.S. GOVERNMENT ASKS ECO TO CREATE JOBS THE HOME DEPOT EXPANDS ECO FOOTPRINT MODULAR HOMES
EMBRACE ECO RED SHIELD
FEATURE STORY: CAN CLIMATE CHANGE FORCE CHANGE IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY?
ECO MADE IN AMERICA HOW WHOLE HOUSE PROTECTED LUMBER CAN CREATE JOBS IN FACTORIES FOR EXPORT BUSINESS
THE SHIELD
A PUBLICATION OF THE RED SHIELD FOUNDATION
CONTENTS A NOTE FROM THE CEO 3 NEWS 5 ECO AT THE HOME DEPOT 7 DROUGHT IN WESTERN US 13 WINTER TAKES TOLL ON LUMBER 19 ECO SPEAKS 27
FEATURES 35 THE DANGERS OF ASBESTOS 37 1
March 2014
A CHANGING BUILDING CLIMATE 47 ECO MADE IN AMERICA 59 BUILDER SPOTLIGHT 71 GITT HOME & CONSTRUCTION 71 SIGNATURE BUILDING SYSTEMS 77 OUTREACH 89 A FRESH START 91 PROVIDING JOBS AND SHELTER 97 SANDY REBUILD STALLS 105 www.ecob.net
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A NOTE FROM THE
GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT JOBS AND CLIMA
As we move into the spring building season, it’s essential that we re
changes happening in the United States and abroad. Unemployme
down our economy here at home, while Climate Change is bringing
to the building sector here and abroad. The construction industry h
responsibility for leading the charge in creating a safer, more su
environment. Eco Building Products is committed to being a lead
latest technologies to tackle some the world’s most pressing pr
building sector - while simultaneously tackling job creation and ec America.
In this issue, we want to build momentum for Spring Run 201 builders and consumers to catch Eco’s vision for safer, more
affordable housing, along with a a reinvigorated housing export ind
potential to raise living standards throughout the world and provide
for hard-working Americans. Together, we can build a safer, more p
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March 2014
E CEO
ATE CHANGE
ecognize the larger
ent is still dragging
g unique challenges
has yet to take full
ustainable building
ECO PRESIDENT AND CEO STEVE CONBOY
der in applying the
roblems within the
conomic growth in
14, and encourage sustainable, and
dustry that has the
e thousands of jobs
prosperous world.
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News
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News
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News: Eco Expands at The Home Depot
EXPANDS E
CO
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News
O AVAILABI
LITY www.ecob.net
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News: Eco Expands at The Home Depot
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March 2014
News As the Spring Run gets underway, The Home Depot is expanding its footprint of Eco products into new markets throughout the Northeast. The expansion will build on Eco’s current pilot project, spanning 14 stores in the region, and fill out three complete markets in New Jersey State, Long Island, and Metro New York. More than 100 stores will soon showcase Eco Red Shield on the shelf, alongside a full house pack program that will provide the newest and best value added lumber into a market highly impacted by mold problems and fire, due to Hurricane Sandy. Nathaniel Bruce, Home Depot National Accounts Manager for Eco, and his team led by Christian Tyrone in the Northeast are working to ensure that the launch goes off without a hitch. “As my team and I visit each of these stores,” says Bruce, “we are greeted by excited store associates, store leadership and an enthusiastic customer base anxiously awaiting for our
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News: Eco Expands at HD products to hit their stores.” Eco’s successful pilot project, which began in 2013, has been ramping up over the last year as hundreds of satisfied customers cleared shelves of the iconic red lumber. Now, as the Northeast prepares to kick into building season, The Home Depot is widening the availability of Eco products and fully saturating regional markets. “I am humbled to lead my staff at Eco,” says Steve Conboy, Eco President and CEO, “as I came from the construction business and grew up using The Home Depot from day one. To be supplying them now with what, in my opinion, could be the product that changes how we build all American wood framed buildings is thrilling.” To see Eco availability at The Home Depot in your region, check out the store locator at ecob.net
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News: Drought in Western U.S.
PARCHED LAND
A SEVERE DROUGHT IS STRAINING THE AMERICAN WEST 13
News
DSCAPES
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News: Drought in Western U.S. Federal officials have claimed eleven states as primary natural disaster areas following an unrelenting drought throughout the western United States. In California, more than 62 percent of the state is considered to be in an ‘extreme drought,’ the highest levels in the history of the national drought monitoring service. President Obama recently announced over $183 million in federal assistance for the state, and promised to petition Congress for an additional $1 billion in national ‘climate resilience funding’ to help combat future water shortage scenarios. This exceptional drought is stirring concern for more intense and widespread fire risk throughout the western states, as record-lows in rainfall and high temperatures continue to parch the landscape and create a virtual tinder box, threatening millions of businesses and homeowners. 15
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News: Drought in Western U.S.
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March 2014
News Increasingly ferocious wildfires over the past few decades have already brought the need for firecombative technologies into the public spotlight, as major burns like the 2013 Rim Fire in California and the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado devastated hundreds of structures. In spite of the risk, little is being done to encourage the adoption of fire-resistant technologies in the residential housing and commercial building markets. Eco Red ShieldTM technology, developed by Eco Building Products, is one such technology, drastically increasing ignition times and significantly reducing the smoke index of wood structure fires, giving crucial extra time for occupants to safely escape and emergency personnel to contain the blaze. For builders and potential homeowners in droughtstricken regions, the need to adopt fire-resistant technologies and advanced building materials is becoming clearer. How many more homes will we lose this year before change comes to the building industry? www.ecob.net
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News: Harsh Winters Can Harm Lumber
WET A
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News
AND ROTTED HOW UNUSUALLY STRONG WINTERS CAN TAKE A TOLL ON NATIONAL LUMBER STOCKS
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News: Harsh Winters Can Harm Lumber
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March 2014
News As the spring months promise to ease the icy grip of winter and bring on a renewed building season, construction companies should take a closer look at what could end up in their walls. After the milling process, much of the lumber that will be used to create homes and businesses around the country is left sitting in reloads and outside lumber yard storage for periods up to a year or more, often exposed to damaging elements. With rain and snow inundating many of these stockpiles during the winter months, the boards are highly susceptible wind-borne mold spores and the dangers of wood rot. Wood rot is particularly concerning for home and business owners, as a mere five percent rot concentration can equate to a nearly 80 percent loss in engineering values. For wood-framed structures built to support seismic movement and high winds, this fiber strength loss can lead to building failures in storm activity. In Eco Building Products’ coating facilities, it is
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News: Harsh Winters Can Harm Lumber
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News not uncommon for wood with mold and rot problems to be found in shipments from lumber producers around the country. The images on the left are from deliveries sent in to our coating facilities around the country from three different mills that was scheduled to head toward single-family and 5-story multi-family projects in multiple regions. Eco’s strict quality controls prevents these pieces from re-entering the building supply, but the frequency of findings shows just how compromised national lumber stocks are, even in winter months, where low temperatures supposedly limit mold growth and rot. The California Code of Regulations (2010) CAL Green, Title 24, Part 11, Section 4.505.3 specifically addresses moisture content and moisture control of building materials used in construction, including banning the use of moisture-damaged materials and mandating numerous inspections to verify moisture content. Cutting corners on this moisture code could cost the production building and contractor a lot of grief in the court room, and at the expense of air quality in homes. It is Eco’s opinion after framing production homes for over 30 years that most all production homes built with raw www.ecob.net
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News: Harsh Winters Can Harm Lumber lumber have some rot or mold issues especially during winter wet months. “The more we work with The Home Depot,” says Eco President and CEO Steve Conboy, “the more respect what their Senior Merchant has done in perfecting lumber grades for there customers. Their grade and quality is the best the industry has to offer, and the more we coat the more we see what they have actually done to raise the bar at the mill level. “As we coat their lumber with our technology and we meet their specifications on the lumber we buy for them, we are finding the combination of what they have done now to wrap our technology around the board has created the best lumber building industry has ever seen.” When consumers purchase Eco Red Shield, they can be certain that every one of their board feet has been thoroughly checked for potentially toxic mold problems and dangerous wood rot, and rest assured that the proprietary coating technology will preserve health and engineering values for the life of the product. To prevent unnecessary waste in the national lumber supply, then lumber needs a heavier protection than what is being sprayed on at the mill in order to store lumber outside during wet winter and in rain in order to protect wood fiber strength and indoor air quality. 25
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News: Eco Speaks
EC
E
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News
CO SPEAKS
ECO PRESIDENT AND CEO STEVE CONBOY PRESENTS AT A GATHERING FOR THE UNITED NATIONS, TRIBECA, AND WORLD TRADE CONFERENCE
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News: Eco Speaks
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News
The message of Eco Building Products - that safer, more
sustainable, and job-creating methods of producing wood-framed buildings is possible - is beginning to go viral, and major institutions are taking notice.
Steve Conboy, Eco’s President and CEO, has three major
events on schedule this Spring that will bring Eco’s model to thousands of businessmen, politicians, and thought leaders from around the world.
The first major event is the Infopoverty World Conference,
which began in 2001 as a platform to pursue the Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. Infopoverty highlights applications of new technologies and innovations able to be employed for sustainable development of emerging countries, with a focus on solutions such as telemedicine, food security, and emergency housing, as well as climate change and e-learning to assist communities in the fight against poverty. Conboy will be a keynote speaker at the event, and present Eco’s business model of developing safe and durable modular American-style housing in U.S. factories for export to overseas markets, where high homelessness and poor housing standards are putting millions of lives in jeopardy.
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News: Eco Speaks
A related event, “Signs of Change,” will be held at the
Tribeca Cinema and other regional venues, showing screenings of films that showcase developmental work being done around the globe. Conboy has been invited to present by Pierpaolo Saporito, an architect and founder of OCCAM - a UN Affiliate responsible for creating the Infopoverty Programme and committed to helping aid developmental projects all over the world.
“I am very impressed,” says Saporito, “by Steve’s great
capacity to find excellent solutions to resolve emergency situations and, as architect, I appreciate his technical capacity to provide a large number of dwellings on a wide scale in a short time and with protective factors against fire, hurricanes and earthquakes.”
Conboy is also speaking at the World Trade Conference
in May. Held in Ontario, the conference will gather industry specialists, economists, and political leaders to discuss ways of reinvigorating the American export industry. With Eco on the cusp of providing housing solutions to Vietnam, Brazil, Kenya, the Philippines, and other countries around the globe, Conboy 31
March 2014
News will share the company’s insights into creating a housing export industry here in the United States that will bring jobs domestically and better housing standards abroad.
“Here at Eco, we’ve been pursuing the goal of better building
technologies to create safer, more sustainable, and more affordable housing for the planet,” adds Conboy. “I think the world is ready to hear our story.”
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Features: The Hazards of Asbestos
THE HAZARDS OF ASBESTOS REVEALING THE RISKS OF THIS DEADLY BUILDING MATERIAL AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
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Features: The Hazards of Asbestos Written by Kaitlyn Teabo Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral known for its heat and chemical resistance, strength and flexibility. Its versatility contributed to its extensive use from the 1930s to the 1970s in the construction of homes and commercial buildings, in the weaving of fire-resistant clothing, in the production of thousands of products and within a number of industrial occupations. All branches of the U.S. military also made use of the mineral during this time. Although asbestos was highly desirable during the 1900s, today we know that it is a fatal carcinogen and its past use can severely impact your health and the environment. As asbestos is a natural occurring mineral, asbestos mines and surrounding areas can become heavily contaminated with airborne fibers when the mineral is damaged or
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Features: The Hazards of Asbestos agitated during mining. These fibers can easily travel through the air into nearby water supplies or settle atop the soil. The small fibers remain in the air, on the soil or in the water. They never break down or biodegrade, constantly harming the environment. Airborne asbestos fibers can also be detrimental to your health. Once these fibers are inhaled or ingested, they can become trapped in the lungs or abdomen. Persistent and prolonged exposure to these fibers can allow them to accumulate in the body, which may lead to the development of malignant mesothelioma cancer, lung cancer, asbestosis or other asbestos-related diseases. Most of these conditions are not diagnosed until decades after the initial asbestos exposure. However, to receive the best
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Features prognosis, early detection is key, and is possible if those who may have been exposed to asbestos receive regular medical exams that check for asbestos-related illnesses. Factors that affect the likelihood of developing an asbestos-related illness include: - Your previous or current occupation - The concentration of asbestos that was inhaled - The duration of your exposure - The persistence of your exposure - Your smoking history
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Features: The Hazards of Asbestos What You Should Do If You Find Asbestos in Your Home If you live in a home constructed before the 1980s, chances are that you’re living with asbestos. Older homes may contain asbestos in floor and ceiling tiles, insulation for the attic or around boilers, ducts, pipes and fireplaces, and in roofing shingles. If you identify any unharmed asbestos-containing products or materials in your home, the best thing to do is to leave it alone. Asbestos is only harmful when it is damaged or disturbed and its fibers become airborne. If you identify worn or damaged asbestos-containing products in your home or if you need to remodel an area of your home that may contain asbestos, call a professional. Never try to do remove asbestos by yourself. Professionals know what to look for, and they have special equipment to keep them safe from the hazardous effects of asbestos exposure. If you’re not sure if your home contains asbestos, professional asbestos abatement contractors can test materials in your home and remove any asbestos-containing products safely.
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Features: The Hazards of Asbestos
Eco-Friendly Alterna
Because of its des
manufactures through
widely known, an emph
of alternatives to asbes
Flour fillers. Flour fi
the cracks and crevice
Thermoset plastic fl
as egg or gelatin. They
Polyurethane foam
insulation and does no
commonly used for in flotation for ships and
Cellulose fiber. One
which is made from shr
cement for roofing and
Kaitlyn Teabo is a wr
cancer research and em
about asbestos and its 45
March 2014
Features
atives to Asbestos
sirable properties and affordability, asbestos was preferred among
hout the 20th century. As the health effects of asbestos became more
hasis was put on finding substitute products. Today, there are a handful
stos that are safer for you and the environment, including:
illers are generally made from natural materials and are used to fill in
es of structures while acting as an insulator.
lour. Thermoset plastics are made from wood mixed with a binder such
y are generally used for insulation purposes.
m. This water-based type of foam is often used in place of asbestos
ot emit any harmful gases. It is often found in spray foam and is most
nsulation in attics, walls, ceilings and climate controlled-areas, and floating docks.
e of the most frequently used asbestos alternatives is cellulose fiber,
redded paper products, cotton, wood or linen. It is a major component in
d plumbing, and is used to insulate plumbing, water heaters and gutters.
riter for The Mesothelioma Center. She combines her interests in writing,
merging scientific technology to educate the mesothelioma community
s related diseases.
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Features: A Changing Building Climate
A CHANGING BUILDING CLIMATE CAN CLIMATE CHANGE FORCE OVERDUE
INNOVATION WITHIN THE BUILDING INDUST 47
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Features: A Changing Building Climate
As weather patterns continue to show erratic and unusual
intensity around the globe, the building sector is beginning to feel the pressure to rise to the challenge of a changing climate and increasing stressors on traditional engineering and design practices.
Several key areas are becoming more concerning to builders,
government agencies, and consumers as we move into new and unpredictable climate territory. Through each of these challenges, burgeoning technologies await application and widespread adoption 49
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within the building community to create a safer, more sustainable build environment. Termites
Changing weather patterns means warmer and earlier
summers for many parts of the world, which could potentially explode termite populations in regions that have historically been able to keep this pest at bay. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel
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Features on Climate Change (IPCC) released its predictions for worldwide climate change for the next 100 years, showing three to four degree increases in temperature in North America. These few degrees in temperature variability could cause the existing termite population more easily survive the winter and spread farther, potentially causing billions of dollars in extra damage to the wooden structures. Wood Rot Another major issue stemming from warming temperatures is wood rot. Wood rot occurs when moisture levels in lumber grow in excess of 20 percent, allowing fungi to begin breaking down cellulose fibers and severely impact engineering values. A five percent loss to wood rot can equate to an 80 percent decrease in overall structural strength, putting structures at risk for any number of environmental stresses including storms, snow weight, high winds, seismic events, etc.
With warmer temperatures coming earlier and lasting longer
into the year, there is a higher probability of conditions being right for wood rot to set in - especially in areas where it has previously been a non-issue, meaning fewer inspections will look for these lumber issues.
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Features: A Changing Building Climate Mold
These same conditions can also lead to mold problems,
which are fast becoming the most expensive and health-affecting construction issues in the United States and beyond.
In 2004, the Institute of Medicine linked indoor exposure
to mold with respiratory problems, as well as heightened asthma symptoms, in both adults and children. For those with particular mold allergies, the health effects can be more severe, ranging from fever to shortness of breath to mold infections within the lungs.
In the construction industry, mold is problematic because
often mold colonies are present in the lumber long before any pieces go up for structural support. This means that deep within finished wall cavities, framing lumber often has mold growth, thriving in the humid darkness between drywall. These spores can travel through the home via ventilation, as well as heating and cooling ducts.
Remediations for mold related issues are quickly on the
rise, and this growing problem will only be exacerbated by warmer, wetter climates. Super Storms 53
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Features: A Changing Building Climate
The prevalence of high intensity storm systems has been
on the rise for decades, with unprecedented devastation recorded in both developing countries and even regions like the East Coast of the United States. In the last decade, systems like Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, Cyclone Phailin and others have shown that once rare super storms are quickly becoming the norm. As wind speeds increase in storm systems, and high-impact events move into regions previously safe from significant storm systems, it is vital that wood-framed structures maintain (and ideally increase) their engineering values.
Termites and wood rot are major problems as the building
sector looks to preserve structural integrity to allow buildings to withstand these extreme weather environments. Without
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Features protection, homes and businesses around the world are vulnerable to failure, putting lives in unnecessary risk. Fire As droughts both intensify and become more commonplace, the risk for wildfire is dramatically on the rise in areas of the world like the western United States, which is currently in a record drought spanning 11 states. Wildfires are becoming larger and more powerful, putting hundreds of thousands of homes and millions of people at risk. Not enough is being done to help reduce the ignition
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Features: A Changing Building Climate times and burn rates of wood-structures, and in spite of tragic events like the recent Rim Fire in California or the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado, rebuilds are using the same materials as in the structures lost to the flames. Building Defensively
As we enter into the unknown of a changing climate, it is
vital that the building industry meets these challenges to promote sustainability and preserve lives. Eco is doing its part with the creation of a proprietary protection coating system for lumber products that enables wood-framed structures to resist termites, wood rot, mold, and fire, preserving structural integrity that will enable homes and businesses to better survive extreme weather events.
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As billions of dollars are being spent to reduce the effects of
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Features Climate Change, it is time to invest some of those funds to prepare the building industry for the inevitable changes our planet is going through, and offset some of the risk to life and property. With the combined energy of informed consumers, responsible builders, and effective government leadership, we can build a safer world, no matter what the weather brings our way.
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Features: Eco Made in America
In 2014, Eco is ramping up its efforts to create jobs in the
United States and provide sustainable business models that will empower communities and provide livelihoods for thousands of American families.
Eco President and CEO Steve Conboy has been nominated
and assigned by the Director of the US Department of Commerce and The International Trade Association to help spur domestic job growth, and is engaged in a speaking tour to help spread the company’s model to create a booming modular housing industry wrapped with Eco’s technology for export, tapping into skilled American factory workers to address housing needs around the world.
Whether for use as emergency shelters, durable seismic
and storm resistant housing, or affordable alternatives to low quality brick and mortar residences, modular homes made with Eco’s protection coating technology could provide sustainable solutions around the globe, from Kenya to Brazil, the Philippines to the Middle East. In meeting this demand, Eco’s vision involves the creation of thousands of jobs for skilled workers in the United States - especially for those in the construction industry, who have suffered the highest unemployment numbers since the financial 61
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Features crash of 2008.
As Eco moves forward in the mission, it is finding like
minded business and thought leaders to come alongside in their efforts. One such individual is James Stuber, founder of Made in America Again. Made in America Again is committed to promoting awareness of chronic joblessness created by offshoring, and using consumer demand to drive jobs back to American communities. The organization also hosts an online market place for the purchase of American made goods from many industries, and is advocating clear laws to distinguish country of origin for products imported to the United States.
“Our work centers around the idea that consumers are going
to make the changes we are looking for,” says Stuber. “If we build healthy, prosperous communities here at home, we will also be tackling the chronic problems that follow from joblessness - crime, abuse, etc.”
Stuber was active on Capitol Hill and helped see through
the Clean Air and Water Act, which are now being sidestepped by exporting the manufacturing process overseas. “The environmental impact of shipping all of these goods to other countries, where pollution controls are far behind our own, only to have them shipped
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Features: Eco Made in America back and sold to us, is unsustainable,” adds Stuber.
Another partner in the pursuit of eradicating joblessness
is Mary Cunningham, founder of Social Market Maker, a firm that builds coalitions for social good. Leveraging the largely untapped power of consumer choice, Cunningham believes, is the best way to enact social change.
“Citizens hold the power of economic change in this country,”
says Cunningham. “It’s going to take entrepreneurs and business leaders to make a difference in this country - not the government, or even corporate America.
Cunningham’s focus is on combatting urban poverty, and one
of the projects she has spear-headed is a granite stone recycling program. Collecting waste from job sites, the program recycles granite into solid stones, paver, aggregate, and tiles for the design build community, which qualify for LEED credits. The business runs under an employee ownership model, so that franchises can bring sustainable economic vibrancy to underprivileged communities.
Both Cunningham and Stuber are supportive of Eco’s mission
to create a housing export industry here in the United States, both for its environmental effects and job growth potential. By manufacturing pre-fabricated homes in the United States utilizing 65
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Features: Eco Made in America
responsible foresting methods and the latest technology like advanced protection coating, Eco can create a sustainable industry that will reduce greenhouse emissions and provide green products around the world. The necessary factories will also provide thousands of new jobs for American workers.
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“It’s not complicated - we have the know-how and the
resources, and workers looking for the opportunity,” says Conboy. “We have the chance to make a real, positive impact on both the environment and developing countries around the globe. Let’s make sustainable job growth a reality here in America.”
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Builder Spotlight
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Builder Spotlight
BUILDER SPOTLIGHT www.ecob.net
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Builder Spotlight: Gitt Home & Construction
G & CONS 71
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Builder Spotlight
GITT HOME NSTRUCTION ECO RED SHIELD TECHNOLOGY IS SPREADING TO OMAHA www.ecob.net
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Builder Spotlight: Gitt Home & Construction
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Builder Spotlight
Gitt Homes & Construction, a family owned company
based in Omaha (NE) is building the first home in Nebraska with Eco Red Shield™ Protected Lumber to better protect their homes against fire, mold, fungus, rot-decay, wood eating insects and is certified to GREENGUARD GOLD standards for low chemical emissions.
After a decade of experience, owner Mike Gitt started
his construction company in 2006 and focused primarily on residential and commercial property remodels and preventative services. When Mike expanded into new construction, he wanted to do something unique and different than what the other local builders had to offer. He wanted to build houses that were not only in-line with current market design trends but were safer and more eco-friendly than what was typically available in the area.
“Providing quality work with on-time service for superior
customer satisfaction has always been important to us but so is supporting reputable local contractors and American made products,” said Owner Mike Gitt. “The Eco Red Shield™ Protected Lumber is a perfect fit for Gitt Homes & Construction and it’s a solid product that we fully believe in.”
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Builder Spotlight: Gitt Home
Construction on the new home is
currently in progress and people passing by can easily spot the bright red lumber throughout the framing process. “This is a great opportunity for us to use a product that performs better, is safer, environmentally friendly and it’s something the Omaha community has been very responsive towards.
This new home is gaining fast
attention,” said Mike. The eco-friendly home is located at 163rd & Giles (16233 Heather Street) in Omaha, NE. Mike Gitt lives in Omaha with his wife Kelly, a real estate agent and owner of Gitt Real Estate and their five children. For more information about Gitt Homes & Construction please visit www.gittconstruction.com.
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Builder Spotlight: Signature Building Systems
MOD G
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DULAR HOMES GET DEFENSIVE SIGNATURE BUILDING SYSTEMS IS ONE OF SEVERAL MODULAR HOME MANUFACTURERS EMBRACING ECO RED SHIELD TECHNOLOGY
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Builder Spotlight: Signature Building Systems
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The modular home market is booming - and Eco is breaking
into the industry in a big way. In a period of just three short months, Eco Building Products has effectively secured significant channel business opportunities with local/regional Modular Manufacturers and contractors; most of which are centered on the forthcoming Sandy Rebuild. As a result of early efforts, Eco is strategically positioned to push forward into 2014 founded on deep rooted connections with like-minded builders, mortgage representatives, contractors, attorney’s and number of notable modular manufacturers.
A recent report by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology and the National Research Council identifies modular construction as an underutilized resource and a breakthrough for the U.S. construction industry to advance its competitiveness and efficiency.
To meet the needs of the modular industry, Eco is focused on
the sustainable procurement of materials from multiple sources to build and maintain a cost-effective inventory for rapid distribution to select modular partners. One such partner is Signature Building Systems, a respected and well-established firm with over 20 years of experience in custom modular home design and manufacturing
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Signature Building Systems in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.
“When I was approached with this new product,” says Justin
Dephillips, Account Executive at Signature Building Systems, “I took the information they provided and discussed with my father, Victor, who’s our President and CEO. After I told him about it, he was even more excited than I was, and insisted on figuring out the particulars so we could fit it into our production schedule and procedures.”
“As we got closer to production,” adds Phillips, “our entire
team started to do more research on the product so we knew what we were going to be dealing with. Our production staff even started to do research and, once the house hit production, got very excited the more they learned. It was fun watching our production staff get involved with this product and help us market it. A number of our guys and their family members shared photos of the red lumber on Facebook and other social media sites, which was great.”
Modular homes have a host of benefits over traditional
construction methods. Modular construction allows a greater degree of quality control than site built homes, as they are designed and built in a climate controlled environment, and go through rigorous inspections far up to 150 times more often than site builds. 81
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Builder Spotlight
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Builder Spotlight: Signature Building Systems
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Builder Spotlight
In addition, modular homes are engineered to a higher
standard of strength and durability, allowing them to better withstand extreme weather and other environmental stresses - all for cheaper costs than site builds. Probably the most compelling argument for modular homes, however, is their far superior resource and energy efficiency, as less materials are used for the construction process, waste is heavily reduced, and far greater energy efficiency standards can be achieved.
Coupled with Eco Red ShieldTM technology that provides
enhanced protection from fire, mold, and wood rot, modular homes are fast becoming one of the most attractive solutions for well-built, safe, and long-lasting homes for consumers.
John Paul Builders, a custom home building company
specializing in modular construction, contracted Signature Home Systems and has been pioneering the use of protection coated lumber in an effort to build the safest, most environmentally responsible homes possible. “This industry, since Super Storm Sandy, could not be more ready for a product of this caliber,” says John Bishop, co-owner. “We look forward to using any other product Eco makes for the good of the environment as well as protection of building structures.”
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STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST IDEAS ON HOW TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD ECOB.NET
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November 2012
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Outreach
OUTREACH 89
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Outreach: Apprenticeship with River’s Edge
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Outreach
GETTING A FRESH START ECO OFFERS APPRENTICESHIPS TOEX-CONVICTS, FORMER GANG MEMBERS,AND OTHERS IN NEED OF A SECOND CHANCE www.ecob.net
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Outreach: Apprenticeship
At Eco, a major priority has always been
to help strengthen and reinvigorate American communities - with safer, healthier buildings, and also with more available jobs, especially for those who need them most.
At Eco’s coating facility in Colton,
California, the company is reaching out to those with no where else to turn. Partnering with the River’s Edge Church, Eco is offering an apprenticeship program to former inmates, ex-gang members, and others down on their luck or overlooked in the hiring process.
“We have a strong camaraderie on our
team here at Eco, and we want to bring others on board to give them an opportunity to earn a livelihood and give back to the communities they live in,” says Eco President and CEO Steve Conboy.
The apprenticeship involves bringing
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Outreach: Apprenticeship with River’s Edgever’s hands-on experience with Eco’s production process and learn the basics of running a factory. This vision started with Pastor Gary, River’s Edge Founder, Steve Conboy, and Fred Latuperissa, Director of the International Trade Administration and US Foreign Commercial Service, almost two years ago.
Conboy’s vision was to perfect it near Eco’s headquarters
in California before taking the program on the road into cities like New York, helping to put formerly incarcerated people to work in other Eco factories. This vision has now come together with Conboy’s recent nomination and new assignment for a three
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In late February, Eco’s Colton Plant Manager, Mark McCarty,
stopped by River’s Edge Church to help raise money and awareness for the collaboration between Pastor Gary Hornsby and Eco President Steve Conboy. McCarty met with Pastor Gary and the potential first round apprentices the church has selected for the first round of the program.
“We’re looking forward to working with these guys as we look
to meet continuing demand for our products,” adds Conboy.
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Outreach: Shelters and Jobs
PROVIDING SHELTE PROVIDNG JOBS ECO’S VISION TO HELP ERADICATE HOMELESSNESS
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Outreach: Shelters and Jobs
According to recent studies, more than
600,00 Americans are homeless on any given night across the country. Homelessness is an often ignored, rarely discussed epidemic in American cities, in large part because it is symptomatic of another pressing issue joblessness. Unemployment rates are still at record highs, with more and more hard working Americans finding themselves out of work, with nowhere to turn.
Eco Building Products is committed to
tackling both of these issues. By creating factories in the United States to manufacture protectioncoated lumber products and modular home, Eco aims to not only provide job opportunities to those who need them most, but also adequate housing for every American - and for those in developing countries.
Looking back through history, it is evident
that many Americans feared that the end of World War II and the subsequent drop in military 99
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“After the Second World War,” explains Eco
President and CEO Steve Conboy, “Americans came together with an unprecedented entrepreneurial spirit and the technical know-how to transform the war effort into an enormously successful and sustainable economic environment that enriched a nation. We believe we can do it again, and this time bring the disenfranchised and those down on their luck with us as we spread safe, affordable American-style housing around the world.”
In many areas of the world, poor building standards
and lack of quality materials create a dangerous engineering environment that cost hundreds of thousands of lives as fires, earthquakes, and storms destroy homes
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Outreach: Shelters and Jobs and ruin livelihoods. Eco’s vision is to build quality modular homes for export, providing jobs here at home and better shelter abroad. Eco has been moving forward in creating quickbuild emergency shelters for communities affected by natural disasters, such as the recent typhoon in the Philippines, which could be deployed anywhere around the globe. While most temporary housing is cheap and short-lasting, Eco homes would
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“We have the resources, we have the skills, and we have willing
workers,” adds Conboy. “Our goal is to connect all of these assets and create a booming modular home industry here at home, to provide jobs here at home and shelter for those in need, both domestically and abroad. Imagine what a simple home with a locking door, a kitchen, and bathroom could do to change someone’s life for the better?”
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Outreach: Sandy Rebuild Stalls
WEATHER, PERMITS STALL SANDY REBUILD THE RECOVERY PROCESS IS BEING HAMPERED BY A PROLONGED WINTER AND RED TAPE 105
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Outreach: Sandy Rebuild Stalls
The devastation suffered by New York and New Jersey during
Hurricane Sandy is still surprisingly visible, as only a fraction of affected homeowners have seen any real movement in rebuild efforts.
One of the culprits behind the slow recovery process is a
tedious and time-consuming permit process, which involves officials and agencies at local, state, and federal levels. Funding has poured in to help stricken families return to their homes, but is largely tied up in bureaucratic controls. Of the 4500 households classified as 107
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top priority for assistance, barely a third have received financial assistance. For apartment buildings, it’s even worse - only three of the more than a thousand complexes that signed up for aid have received help.
Eco Building Products stepped in soon after the storm to
help set a precedent for rebuild standards and assist at least a few families in returning to their homes. These fully-funded restorations were gifted to two residents in New York and New Jersey, but both projects are currently stalled due to inclement weather.
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Outreach: Sandy Rebuild Stalls
“Mother nature is keeping us from getting these houses
up as soon as we would like,” says Eco President and CEO Steve Conboy. “As soon as winter loosens her icy grip on the Northeast, we are going to show these communities how to rebuild defensively through these housing projects.”
Eco has performed several community-level conferences
and information campaigns to inform homeowners that there is
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“Our Eco Red Shield lumber is going to stand out and make
a statement this spring as the rebuild effort gets underway,” adds Conboy. “We’re hoping it grabs the attention of the media, and consumers.”
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