Spinning gold from straw

It's cheap as chips, doesn't damage the environment and you can make an insulated and fire-resistant home out of it in less time than it takes to watch a good game of cricket.

At least, that's what the Enviro Board Corporation (EBC) says about its new building panels. The US firm reckons it has invented something of a holy grail for the construction industry, and it has developed and patented a "cost-effective and ecologically sound waste-management solution to the problem of how to economically dispose of agricultural waste without polluting the environment."

The science bit

Without being too technical, EBC's production process takes agricultural waste, or straw to you and me, and shreds it. The strands are then coaxed together and reheated, and it naturally glues itself back together. This is compressed in a mill and, voila, you have ready-to-fit building panels.

It might sound simple, but EBC has spent 10 years in research and development, and about $10 (zł.32) million dollars perfecting the technology. EBC says its low-cost, 'concrete like' panels are architecturally versatile, easily erected and can be used for many different construction purposes, including road sound walls, office partitions, door cores and insulation.

According to Jonah Crawford, vice president for international development with EBC, the panels give you "insulation, sound proofing, fire resistance and finish all in one. You put in two walls of it and you have European building code."

Although the boards themselves are not pretty to look at, Crawford says that they can be finished using any surface.

"You use a light steel frame construction and the panels are slid into place and fastened and you tape right on to it," he explains.

Once the panels are erected, the interior walls can be painted or covered with wallpaper, and the exterior walls can be covered with any type of coating (stucco, vinyl siding, stone, wood). The panels are resistant to termites, mold and mildew and are hurricane and earthquake stable.

Leading by example

To prove its product, EBC has already built a number of constructions in the US. "We've had our model home for five years in some of the heaviest rainy weather in the north of Sacramento, in the middle of a rice-growing area. There is not a bit of mold on it and the house has never leaked," says Crawford. "Even if it does get wet it doesn't grow mold because it's so tightly packed."

The company has also built a warehouse for one of its own mills. The 20,000 square-foot (1,858 sqm) building was constructed using the boards throughout, even on the roof.

For many developers, the most convincing argument Crawford has in his arsenal is cost. 

"We can cut the cost [of warehousing] by 50 to 60 percent and the warehouses that we make aren't made out of tin, which means they are energy efficient. To make an insulated warehouse is very expensive and we can dramatically cut that cost [and] there is no need for glass insulation."

 On the home front, the price tag would also be music to developers' ears. "We can cut the cost of construction by roughly 70 percent per house regardless of the size," says Crawford. He says a one-family home that the company built as a showpiece in the US cost $5,000 (zł.15,845), including furnishings, and two men can construct a two-family home in two to three days.

Loans you'll like

Developers aren't known for their tree-hugging predilections, but using EBC's materials could have other builders green with envy, as developers can qualify for a number of grants and cheap loans.

"Because of using energy-efficient, sustainably manufactured building material, the deal qualifies for credits under European Investment Bank [EIB] and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD] programs, because they are fulfilling EU policy goals," says Crawford. "Just by building with it, we are giving the EU a bang for its buck on meeting global climate change goals under the Kyoto [Protocol].

"I believe there are at least 15 EIB partner banks in Poland and just as many EBRD partner banks, and we could probably get between EUR 5 million and EUR 250 million [zł.19-956] through EBRD. [These institutions] are actively looking for environmental investments. With the EIB and the partnership banks there are dozens of credits that are available to buy down the investment, meaning that part of the investment loan doesn't need to be paid back.

"This is not just for community housing - because the housing is using a sustainable practice a certain percentage of the loan is a grant and doesn't need to be paid back," says Crawford. Furthermore, his company will guide developers through the process of getting loans and grants from the EIB and the EBRD.

Saddle up, partner

Money matters aside, how do developers get their hands on the goods? "First, we are going to do a technology transfer and get the mills over here producing panels, and, second, we are going to partner with developers," says Crawford.

"We are willing to sell the boards and partner on developments. We have any number of deals that we can do. [For example] if we got a purchase order for 200 flats we would probably build a mill with a solid purchase order [and then] sell the boards."

It's a case of first come, first served for potential clients. "We certainly intend to get in the retail market but we are a small company, which is why we are looking for partners," says Crawford. "Developers [must] understand that it is not a matter of if, it is only a matter of when. Once we have the necessary funding mechanism in our own camp we are not going to need other developers and partners."

The company has already got the thumbs up from a number of environmental and international organizations, including the United Nations.

"We are working on projects with the UN in Aceh province, in India, Pakistan and the Philippines," explains Crawford. "There is a big tie in with relief and low-income housing, but we can also make high-quality warehouses and first-rate housing."

"We want to get our material out because it's great for the whole world," insists Crawford. "We really aren't in the market to compete - we want people to use the material because it's better than cutting down forests, it's better than burning agricultural material and causing acid rain, it's better that we not use energy intensive insulation and glass insulation that has long-term health effects for people, and it's better that we not put chemicals in the air and into families' homes.

"We are cutting the cost of building significantly [and] we are offering [developers] a green edge for marketing."