Lamboo Features in Springfield Business Journal

 “Sustainability” has become a buzzword of the 21st Century. Organizations are reducing their footprint with recycling policies and encouraging employees to carpool or use public transportation. Today it is de rigueur to receive an email with part of the signature line including a demand to “think before you print!” Legislation and regulations are brimming with encouragement, in some cases, and mandates, in others, to build as cleanly as possible with energy efficient materials. A number of projects in and around Springfield have bragged about the achievement of LEEDs Certification for their new buildings in recent years. (Before you hit Google, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

A company in Springfield is at the leading edge of introducing a sustainable raw material – bamboo – to the market with diverse applications and enormous growth potential. Lamboo, Inc. started with the intent of developing a product that satisfies the need for sustainability in the 21st Century while also providing a material that spans a range of applications and exceeds expectations of more traditional materials.

By way of introduction, bamboo holds the promise of being the sustainability wunderkind of the 21st Century when compared with traditional materials such as wood, steel and aluminum for the following reasons. Bamboo produces approximately 14 tons of fiber per acre every six to eight years or six times that of timber, which takes 25-30 years to mature. Bamboo can be harvested without replanting and the silica content makes the plant resistant to insect infestation. Bamboo sequesters about 35 percent more carbon than timber, has natural anti-microbial properties and a root structure that helps to eliminate soil erosion.

Lamboo, Inc. has developed and brought to market a new bamboo product – Laminated Veneer Bamboo (LBV).“We are truly leading an industrial materials revolution,” said Luke D. Schuette, President & Founder, Lamboo, Inc. As an architecture student at Southern Illinois University, Schuette became interested in and began testing various materials for strength, flexibility and sustainability.

“I ended up paying for my own testing at a St. Louis lab in order to determine if the product was going to be sufficient,” Schuette said, explaining the start-up process for Lamboo, Inc.

Laminated bamboo veneer was an idea so ahead of the curve that an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) category or standards did not exist prior to 2007. Schuette and his team presented LBV to ASTM in 2007 and were awarded a new category and standards to compare LBV to other construction and design materials. Since Lamboo, Inc. has achieved the certification, the company has grown to a worldwide presence receiving a 2013 Governor’s Export Award for increasing their export market 63 percent from 2011 to 2012.

Lamboo, Inc. has four broad market categories that it intends to exploit – Architectural/Structural/High Performance Buildings, Aviation/Maritime/Automotive, Design and Industrial. “Lamboo, Inc. makes a laminated veneer product that is lighter and stronger than many traditional products,” Schuette noted. “Lamboo, Inc. is not designing office desks or guitars or commercial beams. We are partnering with companies around the world who desire a sustainable material.”

Products that Lamboo has been involved with include laminated structural beams, architectural elements such as louvers and awnings and window and door systems. Important for designers, architects and builders, no other raw material receives as many LEED points as LBV. Given LBV’s strength and light weight properties it is also a good fit for veneer applications for plane, yacht and car finishes. A tour around the Laboo office also identified some partnerships in the form of a prototype electric guitar, rifle stock and chandelier parts.

Schuette located Lamboo, Inc. in Springfield purposefully. The high quality of life and low cost of living played a large role in looking at Springfield. “Although we have partners around the world and we travel quite a bit, much of our business is conducted via email and Skype,” Schuette said. In fact, the company has brought partners to the Capitol City to experience what Springfield has to offer in hopes of generating further synergy for Lamboo’s products and business plan.

Sustainability in our daily lives is here for the long haul. Buildings and products will continue to seek new and innovative materials that retain and enhance the role traditional materials but with an edge on energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Lamboo, Inc. is leading a revolution in sustainable materials from its perch overlooking the Old State Capitol. Luke Schuette and Lamboo, Inc. have made great strides and have plans for continued growth in Springfield, Central Illinois and the world.

(Read More)

(Excerpt of article by David A. Kelm. NOT AFFILIATED WITH LAMBOO)

A Bamboo Project - The Bamboo Industry in the U.S.

Bamboo has been deemed the new “wonder plant” and with good reason. Bamboo impacts the lives of over 1.5 billion people worldwide, has over 1500 uses that we know about now, is highly sustainable, sequesters up to 40% more Co2 than a forest of trees the same size, and is stronger than steel.

Bamboo is the fastest-growing woody plant in the world, capable of growing up to four feet a day. Most of it is grown organically, and in most locations requires no irrigation, pesticides, or fertilizers. Because of its fast growth, good mechanical properties, low price and abundant availability, bamboo is widely recognized as a promising resource for sustainable manufacturing.

An acre of bamboo can sequester 25 tons of carbon dioxide per year, compared to only 6 tons from a young forest. Bamboo is so effective in this role that Japan and the Netherlands are planting vast tracts of bamboo toward their carbon credit. Much of America’s lands are suitable for growing bamboo. After being imported as early as 1828 into the United States, bamboo grows wildly mostly concentrated in the Southern U.S. and Eastern seaboard. There are additional successful farms as far north as Ohio, Oregon and Washington.

Additional benefits of bamboo:

• Bamboo requires only one third of the water than cotton does. There is much less carbon associated with growing bamboo such as operating tractors in harvesting and maintenance than cotton.
• Bamboo is stronger than steel and more durable than wood. (withstands up to 52,000 Pounds of pressure psi) It can be used as a composite, structural beams, flooring, scaffolding, supports, housing, and concrete reinforcement.
• Bamboo is flexible. It can be used in virtually any application such as bike frames, domes, and other products.
• Bamboo filters soil of contaminants and prevents soil erosion.
• This plant has a use in every industry. 

The need for a bamboo industry in the United States.

Provided all legislation and forecasts stay on course during this election a perfect storm is brewing for the entrance of bamboo as a mainstream crop.

Read more about the effects the bamboo industry will have on the political, environmental, and industrial sectors of the U.S. here. 

(Above is an excerpt of an article by Eric Stevens. NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY MANNER WITH LAMBOO)

                                                                                                                                                               
Mr. Stevens is a prime example of the growing number of innovative leaders and advocates that are taking strong stands on environmental and societal issues. The fact of the matter is that with our rapidly growing society, the traditional way of building and supporting our society is unsustainable and drastic measures must be taken, and sooner rather than later. With the forests and non-renewable resources quickly depleting, our leaders will eventually be forced to look at alternative options. Advocates like Stevens are creating a great framework for this radical political and social shift by promoting the use of bamboo in the U.S. and internationally. Although bamboo will not solve all environmental issues, it can play a major role in the global struggle and movement towards sustainable living that upcoming decades will undoubtedly bring.

Lamboo is playing a large part in the use of bamboo materials in the U.S. through our Laminated Veneer Bamboo (LVB) panels in nearly every industry and market. Our materials are being incorporated all across the U.S. (and internationally) for architectural applications including residential, industrial, commercial, and retail markets. Learn more about our products at the links provided below.

SAIE México 2013

Lamboo, Inc. is pleased to announce they will be attending the sixth Annual SAIE Mexico 2013 Show and Conference. The show is put on by the International Building Trade Show or SAIE (SAIE by its Spanish Acronym – Salon Internacional de la Edicacion) and will take place on February 20-23, 2013 in the WTC Mexico City, Mexico.

The VI International Exhibition Building, SAIE MEXICO 2013, is a exhibition where technological advances in the industry are shared and networking opportunities between professionals and companies, in architecture, construction, design and sustainable lifestyle are present. This show is the most important trade show for housing, construction, and green building sectors in the Mexican market. The four-day event features over 140 exhibitors and more than 8,000 visitors during the 2013 show. SAIE is the leading trade show for green construction, sustainable building, and construction includes green design, low VOC products, paints, recovered materials, full solar and photovoltaic systems, wind power, lighting, and related products.

Lamboo, Inc. will be exhibiting at the show to promote green construction and sustainable building through the manufacturing of engineered bamboo for structural, architectural, and industrial applications. At the SAIE Show, Lamboo will be promoting the following product lines: Lamboo® Design™, Lamboo® Elements™, Lamboo® Renewall™, Lamboo® Structure™, Lamboo® Surface™, and Lamboo® Vue™.

As a technology, and manufacturing company, Lamboo, Inc. offers enhanced performance over traditional forms of construction material to the environment, the construction industry, and architects/engineers throughout the world. Representatives of Lamboo, Inc. can be found at the State of Illinois Pavilion, booth B38. Lamboo’s partner Multivi will also be in attendance showcasing in booth C28. As industry leaders they are integrating superior performing Lamboo (laminated veneer bamboo) within their window, door, and curtain wall systems providing some of the most stable, sustainable, and long lasting systems available to the market.

Multivi Windows & Doors 

Booth #C28 

Marco Perez Haces 

Tel: +01 (222) 2 403 300 

Email: marco@multivi.com 

Web: http://www.multivi.com

Image Source: Feriade

For questions regarding Lamboo or our products please visit our website
at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us 866-966-2999
…
“MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD” – Lamboo Incorporated

The Evolution of Green Construction

The homes we live in create a huge carbon debt before the proud new owners ever cross the threshold. But even worse is the fact that they are built in such a way that they will continue to do harm once they are inhabited, thanks to inadequate insulation that leaves homeowners cranking the heat and AC, not to mention a complete lack of sustainable energy options. Luckily, there is a bright spot on the horizon, and it comes in the form of green construction.

The average construction site could be described as less than eco-friendly, to put it mildly. The materials used for such projects often include natural resources like wood and stone that are not harvested in a sustainable manner. Both logging and mining operations are notorious for damaging the environment through their efforts and doing very little to clean up afterwards. Further, these materials are frequently shipped all over the globe, creating massive amounts of pollution along every step of the way, not to mention the manufacturing processes, which produce even more pollution and waste.

And then, of course, there is the construction itself, which continues this assault on the environment. In short, the homes we live in create a huge carbon debt before the proud new owners ever cross the threshold. But even worse is the fact that they are built in such a way that they will continue to do harm once they are inhabited, thanks to inadequate insulation that leaves homeowners cranking the heat and AC, not to mention a complete lack of sustainable energy options. Luckily, there is a bright spot on the horizon, and it comes in the form of green construction.

Over the last several years, a rapidly growing awareness of serious environmental issues (pollution, deforestation, global warming, habitat loss, species extinction, etc.) has led the public to call for alternatives to the products and services they use on a daily basis. And since many consumers start in the home, the demand for green options on this front has grown considerably. In response, the construction industry has begun to realize a shift in practices, not as a whole, but at least in part, with companies springing up that provide eco-friendly options in the building process.

(Read More)

(Excerpt of article by EcoCltr.)

Environmental concerns have initiated efforts by organizations of all kinds from the private or public sector as well as government bodies to develop renewable practices and materials to replace declining or unsustainable resources. Bamboo as a resource is unmatched in its potential as an environmentally friendly, structurally stable building material. Bamboo produces 30% more oxygen and sequesters 35% more carbon than a like sized timber forest area. With a growth rate of 6-8 years to maturity (compared to timber 25-50) and root structure that eliminates the need for replanting bamboo can be produced on a large scale with much more ease than timber forests cutting costs and limiting energy consumption. Lamboo’s LVB (Laminated Veneer Bamboo) also represents one of the highest performing building materials available to the industry. Learn more about Lamboo’s attributes here.

For questions regarding Lamboo or our products please visit our website
at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us 866-966-2999
…
“MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD” – Lamboo Incorporated

Blog by: Dustin Dennison

AEC Daily Continuing Education – Lamboo

AEC Daily is a developer of online education courses for the construction and architecture industries. It is an e-learning provider for architects, engineers, and other construction professionals and serves over 450 companies.

Founded in 2001, online education courses are the main field of AEC Daily. They provide over 300 courses with a focus on sustainable design. Most courses are free while there is a submission fee for courses like the virtual tour of the USGBC headquarters. AEC Daily won the highest award in education from the American Institute of Architects in 2009 and continue to attract the highest numbers of design professionals in the industry. AEC Daily has been recognized as the common denominator for education in the AEC industry.

Lamboo offers a course covering laminated veneer bamboo (LVB) use in structural and curtain wall applications. This course compares the structural and mechanical properties of common building materials and composites, and illustrates how LVB components can be fully integrated into structural or curtain wall designs and meet the requirements of today’s sustainable built environment. Additional courses for window & door and interior panels will be added in coming months.

 (View PDF)

Sustainable Materials for Curtain Wall Innovations

Lamboo Inc. has integrated the most sustainable natural resource, bamboo, into curtain wall members and storefront system components.

Lamboo’s Renewall™ series is ideal for both residential and commercial applications bringing warmth and longevity to each project while exceeding aluminum system’s performance through longer unsupported spans, higher fire rating, and thermal performance. Renewall™ systems can easily be integrated into innovative projects large and small while meeting Passive House Standards.

The Split Mullion Design allows for easy integration of Lamboo materials with aluminum coverings for many applications from storefronts, curtain walls, and conservatories. The coupling mullion pre-fabricated frames can be finished in the fabrication shop with base profiles, interior gaskets and glass supports. Installation on site, these frames are simply coupled, glazed, and finished with pressure profiles. Incorporating Lamboo® Renewall™ materials give systems unmatched qualities including aesthetics, thermal properties, and ease of integration while obtaining optimum variability within harsh and changing environments.

 (Split Mullion technical data)

Lamboo, Inc. is leading the way of sustainable building materials and products by innovative industrialization of bamboo. As an ultra-renewable alternative to traditional materials Lamboo, LVB (Laminated Veneer Bamboo), features performance attributes far greater than other building materials such as timber, aluminum or fiber glass. Superior performance, rapid bamboo replenishment, and environmental benefits make Lamboo the ideal building material for project showcases worldwide.

  For questions regarding Lamboo, our products, or to schedule an interview please

visit our website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us 866-966-2999

…
“MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD” – Lamboo Incorporated

 

Blog by: Dustin Dennison

Pier 1 Imports selects high perfomance, sustainable bamboo.

Pier 1 Imports in a mission of promoting quality sustainable facilities has chosen Lamboo materials for refits and new construction of U.S. stores. Lamboo’s laminated veneer bamboo (LVB) will be incorporated into Pier 1 awning and door systems nationwide. With the highly renewable resource of bamboo, Pier 1 is staying environmentally responsible through the use of Lamboo products while ensuring that their stores will not only have long lasting stable systems, but will also stay aesthetically pleasing for their customers.

ImageOne Industries is utilizing the LAMBOO® ELEMENTS™ series in the Pier 1 awnings systems. These exterior grade components and panels feature proprietary manufacturing processes & bonding agents to resist moisture and last throughout harsh environments. These components are on average 20% more stable than hardwoods and up to 40% more stable than softwoods such as pine or douglas fir. Lamboo products attain all low V.O.C. guidelines by LEED (USGBC) and do not produce off-gassing in production or application.

Kolbe Windows & Doors is using material from the LAMBOO® VUE™ series to install long lasting durable door systems for Pier 1. Lamboo, Inc. as the leader in the technologies and manufacturing of performance based engineered bamboo, will be providing these components designed specifically for the window and door systems of Pier 1. Lamboo components have great thermal properties, strength, durability, and contain water resistant attributes that make it ideal for exterior applications.

At this time projects as far west as Alaska to as far east as Florida have already been completed with additional stores planned nationwide.

Lamboo is pleased to work with Pier 1 Imports as well as collaborating with other major retailers and companies that have initiatives to establish strong and environmentally friendly systems.

For questions regarding Lamboo, our products, or to schedule an interview please
visit our website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us 866-966-2999

"MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD" - Lamboo Incorporated

 

Blog by: Dustin Dennison

Stronger bamboo industry pushed for 2016 by DTI

The Department of Trade and Industry pushing for a robust and sustainable Philippine bamboo industry by 2016, its press release said.

The agency is also eyeing to help position the country as a key player in the world bamboo industry next to China by 2020.

The Philippine Bamboo Congress was organized recently to increase public awareness on the potentials of bamboo. By maximizing the use of bamboo in producing products like furniture and construction materials, DTI Undersecretary for Regional Operations and Development Group Merly Cruz said.

The move, Cruz said, aimed to stimulate economic growth and increase job creation, particularly for the marginalized sectors in the countryside, and to contribute in the mitigation of climate change.

By 2016, the DTI targets to create 37,648 jobs and 1,191 micro, small and medium enterprises in the country’s bamboo industry.

It also aims to generate Php744.48 million worth of investments, and P800.1 million in domestic sales from 2012 to 2016.

In 2009, the Philippines was among the top exporters of bamboo products and ranked 6th worldwide with a total export value of $30 million, according to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan.

(Read More)

(Excerpt of article by the Daily Star. NOT AFFILIATED WITH LAMBOO)

Lamboo Inc. is a innovative company that is leading the trend of sustainable development by utilizing the super material that is bamboo. As the main provider of structural grade bamboo, Lamboo is committed to cultivating this material to its full potential for use as a replacement to the traditional and depleted sources of timber as a ultra renewable alternative. Bamboo is not only a rapidly renewable resource in the form of engineered LVB (Laminated Veneer Bamboo) but also features performance attributes far greater than any other plant species. Superior performance, rapid replenishment, and environmental benefits make bamboo the ideal building material.

 

 For questions regarding Lamboo, our products, or to schedule an interview please

visit our website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us 866-966-2999

…
“MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD” – Lamboo Incorporated

 

 

 

Blog by: Dustin Dennison

Bamboo goes commercial

Jamaica is now set to enter bamboo production on a commercial basis, having gained entry as the 38th member to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR).
Jamaica already produces furniture and household items from bamboo, much of which is done by informal craft traders, but the new program is meant to devise more hardy and quality products.

The plant grows prolifically throughout Jamaica.

Gladstone Rose, chairman of the Bamboo industry Advisory Committee at the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ), said Thursday that INBAR membership gives Jamaica access to technology transfer models and other documents that the agency can use to guide private companies to develop bamboo prototypes.

The prototypes include bamboo plywood, bamboo tiles, bamboo board, bamboo students chairs and other engineered bamboo products using the most prolific local variety of bamboo, Bambusa vulgaris.

"The team has successfully produced bamboo products prototypes but now seek venture capital to supply already identified markets locally and in the United States of America," Rose told Sunday Business.

The BSJ work is focused initially on Glengoffe, where training sessions using the INBAR material has been under way since April. The workshops will span two years.

INBAR is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in China, comprising countries that have bamboo or rattan resources in quantities that can be commercialized.

Through its network of member countries, organizations and individuals from all continents of the world, INBAR develops and assists in the transfer of appropriate technologies and solutions to benefit the peoples of the world and their environment," said Rose.

"Information on 122 Chinese bamboo and rattan products/process standards have been received which will help the BSJ and bamboo products producers rapidly develop Jamaican standards and ultimately create a modern standards-led bamboo products industry," he said.

The BSJ earlier this year was designated by the Ministry of Industry Investment and Commerce to be the focal point for INBAR in Jamaica.

"The Government of Jamaica recognizes that bamboo is a valuable renewable resource which grows rapidly and therefore is a good substitute source for wood instead of timber, obtained by cutting down trees which takes on average 40 years to grow to maturity," Rose said.

The Bamboo Industry Advisory Committee, which he heads, was set up by the BSJ to oversee the development of pilot projects, studies and product prototypes.

The committee also plans to publish its own guidance documents for use of the new bamboo industry that Jamaica expects to emerge from the INBAR project.

"Such documents will prescribe standards, policies and ethical practices for the industry," Rose said.

The standards-led industry is to be developed over a two-year period. The project incorporates entities such as the state-run Forestry Department and the Jamaica Wood Products and Furniture Association representing private operators.

Rose said bamboo manufactured products will include school furniture, including desks and chairs, while bamboo plywood will be used to make doors, skirting and moldings.

Bamboo was first introduced in Jamaica to strengthen riverbanks. A Forestry Department count in 2000 found that the plant covered more than 44,000 hectares nationwide. Today, Rose says there are 47,000 hectares of bamboo growing wild.

Around 1999-2000, according to the Lewis-Nelson paper, the Forestry Department, backed by private sponsorship, imported and erected a "bamboo-concrete house" using material and technical resources from Costa Rica.

"It generated much interest from a wide variety of persons, groups and institutions, but has not realized the desired effect of utilizing local bamboo for low-cost housing on a large scale," the paper said.

Market leader China has developed its bamboo industry into a US $14-billion enterprise, of which US $2-billion worth of products is exported to the West, according to Rose.

"The value of Jamaican manufacture is minuscule by comparison," said the BSJ executive. "We are trying to create a new industry."

(Read More)

(Excerpt of article by Avia Collinder, of The Gleaner. NOT AFFILIATED WITH LAMBOO) 

Lamboo is a manufacturer of laminated veneer bamboo (LVB) for structural and interior design applications. Lamboo can be utilized in a variety of products and systems from window & door units, curtain wall systems, industrial shipping containers to table tops and yacht interiors. Lamboo materials can be used as a substitute to traditional wood in nearly every application as a rapidly renewable and sustainable alternative. The strength of bamboo has lead to it being referred to as ‘vegetable steel’ with a tensile strength of 28,000 per square inch.

Bamboo has long been revered for its enormous potential as a building product but is only now starting to be fully utilized. That is something very exciting and will play a huge role in the future.

For questions regarding Lamboo, our products, or to schedule an interview please
visit our website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us 866-966-2999

“MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD” – Lamboo Incorporated

Blog by: Dustin Dennison