GreenBuildingTalk Blog says...

Several cabinet companies showcased beautiful bamboo and other sustainable materials. A highlight was Koch & Co.’s Wheat Board cabinetry. Wheat board is a particleboard that is manufactured from wheat stalk fiber instead of tree fiber. Koch's wheatboard cabinets also use low or no VOC finishes, making their product one of the greenest. Koch also offers cabinetry made from German Beech wood, a sustainable wood product from the forests of Germany. When I spoke with Doug Martin, a Pollmeir rep marketing German Beech wood, he impressed upon me that the Beech wood coming from Germany is quite sustainable. Pollmeir’s German Beech wood meets sustainable forestry standards, including the Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC) and makes up 57% of Germany’s hardwood forests.
Read GreenBuildingTalk Blog post.

KBIS 2008 Report

The KBIS (Kitchen - Bath Industry Show) held here in Chicago last weekend was a great success. In spite of the soft housing market, it seemed to be a good turnout for the event. I spent most of the weekend in the Koch & Co booth presenting the line to prospective clients and dealers, as well as acting as their spokesperson for an HGTV interview. HGTV was in the booth three different times on Friday for the initial interview and follow up footage on the Koch GREEN Series product.

The Koch GREEN Series features construction of the cabinet box and drawer boxes with a wheat core particleboard without any added urea formaldehyde and is available in an array of wood species and finishes. Bamboo carries some buzz as a fast growing resource but when you factor in the plant’s initial incubation period, the distance it has to be transported, and the question of the chemicals involved in the binders, wheat core particleboard wins hands down on the rapidly renewable and environmentally friendly scales. The wheat core is manufactured from the post harvest leftovers of wheat stalk and stubble that is typically plowed under or burnt off. This is fabulous considering it creates an additional source of revenue for the Midwest farmer for a waste by-product as well as preventing additional pollutants from the burn offs.

Your new home is breathtaking! Maybe it's the formaldehyde?

Your new home is breathtaking! Maybe it's the formaldehyde? I coined this phrase last fall (as far as I can tell since it doesn't show up on a Google search!) In any event, I started using it in presentations to Architects, Developers, Contractors and other prospects for our Koch GREEN Series cabinetry. I like it enough to blog it and see if it takes off. Formaldehyde is in the news and not just in regards to the infamous FEMA trailers:

From NewsInfrerno.com: Formaldehyde Problems Not Limited to FEMA Trailers "Formaldehyde is an invisible gas that is known to cause cancer. It can also cause other illnesses ranging from nose bleeds to chronic bronchitis. Commonly used in manufactured homes and recreational trailers, formaldehyde can cause respiratory problems and has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)."

From the EPA site: "Levels in HomesAverage concentrations in older homes without UFFI are generally well below 0.1 (ppm). In homes with significant amounts of new pressed wood products, levels can be greater than 0.3 ppm."