22 • Thursday, August 9, 2012
Evolutia-nary Ideas
A HOME
Abandoned textile mills and plants whose jobs moved overseas years ago are now getting a new life, thanks to a local business. Evolutia, a company of KMAC Services founded by Robert Klinner and Tim McCollum in 1987, purchases old industrial plants and takes them apart to create spaces pieces with a one-of-a-kind aged look. The family-owned business likes to call their work “The Art of Transformation.” They work with architects, contractors, builders and home and business owners to produce anything from flooring and ceiling beams to cabinets, furniture and artwork. “People just really love the value BY LAURA MCALISTER and history,” said Clay Klinner, Robert’s son and co-manager of JOURNAL EDITOR Evolutia. “It tells a story, but really, it’s just beautiful. That’s what people really love about it.” While Evolutia does a lot of work for private residences – Clay said renovation projects have been popular the past several years – the company’s work can be seen Clay Klinner throughout the area in popular businesses like Little Donkey, Ore and El Barrio. What Clay loves about the work is that he’s taking something • Wood window restoration and repair old and recycling it -- not just the • Sash replacement, rot repair materials but also the history of the • Replace broken and fogged glass buildings. • Wood insulated, putty glazed, and He said quality materials are composite vinyl replacement sashes hard to come by today. • Locally owned and operated “When this wood was timbered, they were allowed to grow for hundreds and hundreds of years,” he said. “It was here when the Pilgrims were. Now, (timber) grows no more than probably 50. Some probably less.” Evolutia, which has its showroom in downtown Homewood, scouts the country looking for abandoned buildings that fit its criteria. Most of these facilities were built in drapery • upholstry • nursery the late 1800s or early 1900s. dorm • outdoor Starting from the roof and movTues.- Fri. 10AM - 5PM ing down, Clay said, they deconSat. 10AM - 2PM Jim struct the buildings salvaging the 205.264.1136 wood, bricks, stone and any other Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 Inside Trussville Antiques & Interiors artifacts that can be reproduced into 147 North Chalkville Rd. Trussville FAX: 205-824-1246 flooring, furniture or cabinetry. Oct. 2010 Clay said it takes some 18 This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNALmonths for theto completely deconstruct Nov. 4 2010 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246. the buildings, depending on the size. In the end, they are able to salvage about 90 percent. The company has acquired facili-
Company Gives New Life to Reclaimed Materials
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Once the old mills are deconstructed the salvaged materials are taken to Photos special to the Journal Evolutiaʼs warehouse.
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Left: Reclaimed wood was used on the walls and ceilings of this bathroom. Right: A kitchen is made over using reclaimed materials from Evolutia.
ties in Alabama, North and South Carolina. One of its first projects was an old cotton mill in Lancaster, S.C. The company also is working on mills in Tallassee, Selma and here in Birmingham. Once the building is deconstructed, materials are shipped to Evolutia’s factory in Decatur. There, Clay said, they have designers who can create pieces for clients, but they also work closely with architects, contractors, designers and homeowners who want the look of the reclaimed materials in their homes or businesses.
Paul Davis, a contractor with Ruff Reams, said he’s using reclaimed materials from Evolutia more and more. He said that skins, a wall or ceiling covering made from shaving a thin layer of wood from an old beam, are popular requests among his homeowners. “We’re able to use the skins to veneer walls and ceilings,” he said. “It’s a great way to accent a wall in a space. We’ve done them in great big living areas, and right now we’re doing one on a screened-in porch in Mountain Brook. We’re doing the ceiling.” While the wood products for flooring and walls are popular, so are the antique bricks recovered from the old textile mills. “You just can’t beat the character of these products,” Paul said. “We just finished a whole house with reclaimed brick from an old building in Decatur. It achieved a very old world look on the exterior.” At the Evolutia Showroom on 28th Avenue South, potential clients can come in and browse through the different varieties of wood, brick and other materials and check out furniture and artwork. “We’re really open to any projects, large or small,” Clay said. “We can take a rendering and recreate it, or we have designers in Decatur, so we do have the ability to design and layout.” ❖