News & Product Updates
SMITH & FONG DEVELOPS SOY-BASED ADHESIVE SOLUTION FOR PLYBOO MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS
San Francisco, Calif. – Smith & Fong Co. today announced it has developed a soy-based adhesive system for its line of Plyboo® bamboo plywood and flooring.
Trademarked Soybond™, the new adhesive system is the result of more than two years of research at Smith & Fong’s manufacturing facility. The first Soybond-based Plyboo panel will be on the ground in North America in November, according to company founder and president Dan Smith.
Smith & Fong expects all Plyboo plywood and flooring production to be converted to Soybond by the first quarter of 2010.
“We’ve already established PlybooPure bamboo plywood and flooring as the cleanest products on the market but have wanted to push this mandate to the next level,” Smith said. “A bio-based adhesive system seemed the logical next step for us.”
Smith explained that soy-based adhesives have excellent mechanical properties that compete well with chemical-based alternatives, but offer advantages in indoor air quality, workplace environmental safety and ease of disposal. The United Soybean Board states that soy-hydrolyzate and soy-flour adhesives do not require hazardous waste disposal. “This presents a tremendous advantage for countries that struggle with waste disposal issues,” Smith said. “And we’re looking to be part of the solution.”
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Francisco, Smith & Fong Co. was the first U.S. company to manufacture bamboo flooring in China for sale in North America, offering its initial product under the brand name Plyboo in 1993. In 1996 the firm began producing bamboo plywood, followed by coconut palm flooring and plywood products in 2000. In 2009 they introduced a domestically produced flooring line called Sideways that is FSC certified, CARB compliant and passes California section #01350. Smith & Fong is committed to sustainability through innovation. For information call 866-835-9859 or visit http://plyboo.com.
FSC-Certified Bamboo Now Qualifies for LEED Credit MRc7
Recent USGBC credit interpretation request results in ruling that enables FSC-certified bamboo building products (flooring, plywood, veneers) to be recognized within LEED Certified Wood credit
Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 3, 2009 -- The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on April 22 ruled that Forest Stewardship Council FSC-certified bamboo plywood and flooring can now be included in calculations under Credit MRc7: Certified Wood, for projects seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
The ruling followed a credit interpretation request (CIR) submitted by a project team who specified Smith & Fong's Plyboo® FSC-certified bamboo flooring for a multi-use project in North Carolina. After reviewing the CIR the USGBC determined the bamboo products specified for the project had been harvested and sourced by a supplier that possessed the necessary and current certifications from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and the CIR was consistent with the credit intent to, "encourage environmentally responsible forest management."
encourage environmentally responsible forest management. The CIR review concluded that bamboo is often used in many of the same applications as wood products, and is considered by the FSC to be a forest product despite its technical classification as a grass. Going forward FSC-certified bamboo building products (flooring, plywood, veneers) will be recognized within LEED's MRc7 Credit.
"We couldn't be more pleased with the USGBC's ruling," Smith & Fong president and founder Dan Smith said. "To be recognized by LEED provides the ultimate validation for all the years of work we undertook to prove the sustainability of bamboo as a building material."
Smith & Fong received certification for its bamboo resources--the world's first non-wood product certified in accordance with the FSC's guidelines--in April 2008. The company's certified Plyboo products qualify for the FSC Pure designation, as they are 100-percent FSC material from an FSC-certified forest and have been sold and/or processed by an FSC chain-of-custody certified company. Smith & Fong's sources use no irrigation, pesticides or fertilizers in growing their bamboo.
The exact wording of the USGBC's CIR ruling can be found here: usgbc.org/LEED/Credit/CIRMain.aspx?VID=2. Access to the CIR pages requires a username and password.
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Francisco, Smith & Fong Co. was the first U.S. company to manufacture bamboo flooring in China for sale in North America, offering its initial product under the brand name Plyboo in 1993. In 1996 the firm began producing bamboo plywood, followed by coconut palm flooring and plywood products in 2000. Smith & Fong is committed to sustainability through innovation. For information call 866-835-9859 or visit plyboo.com.
Smith & Fong launches hardwood flooring line
Named Sideways, the new line comes in ½" x 5" x 47 ½" engineered click-lock planks, featuring a rotary-cut hardwood veneer face with a striking twist.
"Sideways takes a whole new approach to hardwood flooring on many levels", Smith & Fong president and founder Dan Smith said. "From its distinct non-traditional appearance to its green credentials, this is a floor that will turn heads."
Developed for both commercial and residential applications, the entire line is urea formaldehyde-free and FSC-certified, enabling it to qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Credits MR 7: Certified Wood; and EQ 4.4: Low-Emitting Materials (No Added Urea Formaldehyde). Sideways is manufactured in America from indigenous hardwood species, maple, beech, birch, cherry and hackberry.
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Francisco, Smith & Fong Co. was the first U.S. company to manufacture bamboo flooring in China for sale in North America, offering its initial product under the brand name Plyboo in 1993. In 1996 the firm began producing bamboo plywood, followed by coconut palm flooring and plywood products in 2000. Smith & Fong is committed to sustainability through innovation. For information call 866-835-9859 or visit http://plyboo.com.
Smith+Fong’s Statement RE: CARB
Smith & Fong’s Statement Regarding Plyboo® and Durapalm® Products and the California Air Resources Board (CARB)’s Composite Wood Products Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM)
On April 26, 2007 CARB approved a groundbreaking airborne toxic control measure (ATCM) to reduce formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products (hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium density fiberboard, thin medium density fiberboard [thickness ≤ 8mm]). The new regulations were written to include furniture and other finished products made with composite wood products. Exact wording can be found on CARB’s website: http://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/compwood/compwood.htm.
Even though all Smith & Fong bamboo and palm products exceed the requirements of the compwood ATCM (and already did before the regulations were passed), they are 100 percent bamboo or palm, contain no wood and therefore do not fall under the CARB regulations—which apply only to composite wood products.
For more information on Smith & Fong’s environmentally healthy products and initiatives visit: http://www.plyboo.com/section-01350-press-release.html
