Company Gives Back to Nature

Bill Robinson
April 1, 2002
Professional Remodeler

As a major sign that “green” has become mainstream for remodelers and builders, an energy- and resource-efficient truss plant has been built in Santa Maria, Calif., by the 83-year-old Hayward Lumber Co.

Made from recycled steel framing, the 50,000-square-foot plant uses solar power to run the machines and offers employees electric car hookups, waterless urinals and, to encourage bicycling to work, showers. Even the land was recycled from a previous commercial use, which the company chose to do instead of chewing up nearby agricultural lands.

Bill Hayward, 39, the fourth-generation president of the Monterey, Calif.-based company, says forests and other natural resources have been good to his family’s fortunes and “this is our opportunity to give back to that source.” The company sells lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and earlier this year halted selling wood products treated with arsenic.

The $4 million truss plant is applying for certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, an organization created by the U.S. Green Building Council. The trusses made in the plant will cost the same as trusses from other sources, the company says.

For more info about Hayward’s green building program, visit www.haywardlumber.com or call 800/640-1959.

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