Greenbuild show opens in Chicago

CHICAGO, IL - The Greenbuild International Conference and Exhibition opened at Chicago's McCormick Place West yesterday, with dozens of wood products manufacturers numbering among more than 1,000 exhibitors. The sustainable construction trade show and and conference is run by the U.S. Green Building Council, the organization that sets the LEED  standards for green construction and interior building design.

Commenting on Greenbuild, Tim Coleman, USGBC's board chair, "Not only does green building contribute to saving energy, water and money, it also creates green jobs
that will grow and energize our economy." The exhibition area had a "soft opening" yesterday from 2:00-5:00 p.m., then stayed open until 8:30 p.m. with food and cash bars following the ribbon cutting. Attendance was steady last evening. This morning keynote Colin Powell addresses the event.

 

Tim Cole, USGBC board chair, at the evening ribbon cutting for Greenbuild.

At the opening ceremony commentator Lisa Ling addressed the crowd. Ling is building a new house for her family that will be LEED platinum certified. Ling said she is having her contractor save the wood floors from the former house on her lot, to be reused in her now home.

Dozens of wood products manufacturers are exhibiting at the exposition, from office and institutional furnishings giants like Hon, Kimball Office and Steelcase, to millwork, flooring, doors and windows manufacturers, as well as lumber suppliers. Steelcase, though a platinum sponsor at the event, is not exhibiting on the show floor. Herman Miller has a booth, but also built a VIP lounge, furnished with its tables and chairs.

Exhibitors listed under millwork include Aged Woods Inc., Airolite Co., ALC Collegedale, Contact Industries, EngineeredTimber Resources, Executive Cabinetry, Exotic Hardwoods & Veneers, Hardwoods  Specialty Products, ISEC Inc., Modular Millwork, Rex Lumber, SierraPine, Sustainable Flooring, Sustainable Wine Cellers, Thermo Fisher Scientific, TMI Systems Design, and The Woods Co.

Accoya is exhibiting, showing long-lasting woods produced using its acetylation treatment process. As part of its exhibition, Accoya takes signatures from booth visitors and contributes $10 for each one to reconstruction efforts in Haiti.

The Collins Co. showed its range of offerings,include Collins Pacific Albus, and a show-stopper, a bicycle engineered for its COO from wood. The high-end bicycle weighs about 19 lbs., with a hollow frame with elegant finger jointing holding the components together.

Rex Lumber is showing its wide range of lumber and hardwood offerings, including Mayan Mahogany. Rex Lumber says it is the only supplier to provide exclusively FSC-certified tropical Mayan Mahogany. FSC is part of the current LEED requirement, though that has generated controversy, and a lawsuit, because LEED doesn't recognize other sustainable chain of custody certifications, such as SFI.

A unique processed wood on display is being shown by TimberSIL Products of Springfield, VA, which has developed a method of infusing wood with "glass," as Karen Slimak, CEO and developer of the product describes it. Moisture in the wood is replaced by silica, which renders th wood dimensionally stable and sronger, Slimak says. Applications range from railroad ties to outdoor wood projects. Because joists made from TimberSIL are stronger, they can be spaced further apart - building codes permitting - and so it costs no more than conventional wood in some construction work.

Cambia by Greenleaf showed its thermally modified wood. Cambia by Greenleaf is a joint venture formed by Northland Forest Products and PCI Industries to manufacture and sell environmentally responsible and sustainable thermally modified lumber. Cambia resists cupping, warping and decay, says the firm's Matthew Gilchrist. Northland Forest Products supplies wood from FSC-certified forests, and operates two lumber concentration and distribution yards, located in Kingston, NH and Troy, VA. The Cambia oven is located in Kingston, NH, and employs the Perdure thermal modification technique.