Green Building Product of the Future Now in Production

Green Building Product of the Future Now in Production New
Composite Product Replaces Concrete Block, Wood & Steel In Construction
By: James P Antonic - Friday, July 17, 2009
Source: Composite Building Structures, Ltd.

Ft. Myers, FL (July 2009) – A new green building product that could replace concrete block, wood and steel in residential and commercial construction is now being produced at a new manufacturing facility in Kissimmee, Florida. The product and assembly process, developed and patented by Composite Building Structures Ltd. (CBS) of Ft. Myers, Florida, uses glass fibers and resin to create a composite framing stud that is stronger and more sustainable than any material now being used.

Using this product can qualify a builder for up to 21 points toward LEED green building certification because of its superior insulation qualities, reuse of waste in construction, and the product’s recyclability, according to the product’s inventor James Antonic.The new product also offers many benefits for those people seeking a more sustainable lifestyle. A typical 2,000 sq. ft. home contains about one ton of composite material, compared to approximately 17 tons of wood or 41 tons of concrete. Because the weight of the CBS structural framework is only 8% of the weight of lumber used in the same size house, the CBS composite system stands out as having the least embodied energy and the most energy efficient building system available anywhere in the world.

Antonic estimates that the production from three composite plants could save as much as 70 square miles of trees from being clear-cut annually. “The benefits associated with using this building material are numerous and they benefit the consumer, the builder and our environment,” Antonic said.

The composite framing material and construction process creates structures that can withstand wind speeds of up to 350 mile per hour, providing greater safety during hurricanes and tornados. The material also has the ability to bend slightly under stress and recover, making it a more viable construction material for earthquake prone regions as well. In addition, the new material is termite, pest and fire resistant, and will not sustain mold growth or interfere with electronic signals, making it the high-performance construction material of choice in our ever-increasing wireless society.

As innovative as the composite building material is, the process of constructing a home may be even more so. At the Kissimmee facility, operators can produce a home to each builder’s specifications on a vertical production line, assembling panels up to 50 feet long to create the home’s wall and roof sections. The panels are delivered to a site and erected by a CBS crew in one day with the roof covered and all the windows, doors, sheathing, insulation and electrical boxes in place with no construction debris left on the site. The builder then completes the interior structure and finishing of the home. The panels for a single home can be transported to a site on just one truck.

As for cost, Antonic says right now he can produce a structure at a price comparable to wood frame construction and with far less pricing volatility. Lumber prices hit a six-year low in January at $190 per 1,000 board feet; the highest price recorded during that period was $474 per 1,000 board ft. in August of 2004. “Our basic commodity is glass and that’s predominately made from sand. There’s not much pricing volatility in sand,” he said.

“I believe we have created a product and process that can and will revolutionize the home building industry,” Antonic said. “When consumers recognize all the green benefits associated with our system, and builders see the ease and speed with which the homes can be constructed, our biggest challenge will be managing our production output,” he said.

The Kissimmee facility is just the second plant worldwide to assemble composite framing materials. The first plant to become operational was in Alabama. Antonic said that plant served as a test facility and allowed him to optimize the composite material, the advanced pultrusion system that creates the building products, and fine tune the design and assembly processes.

Antonic estimates that the two plants, operating 24 hours a day have the capacity to produce 7,200 homes a year. He is currently in negotiations with investors and builders to license additional plants throughout the United States. “The slow down we have experienced in the home building industry during the last two years has allowed us to bring our product and processes to a point where we will be ready to serve the industry when housing construction begins to rebound,” he said.

Antonic’s sights however, reach far beyond domestic residential construction. He has met with investors and government officials in many foreign countries with housing shortages to discuss his product’s application in both residential and commercial construction.

Composite Building Structures, Ltd. manufactures optimized glass fiber composite structural framing that replaces wood, concrete block and steel in construction. The company licenses its Construction Technology Centers in exclusive territories and markets worldwide that provide CBS products to builders in those regions.

For information about the product or licensing agreements, contact the company at 941-870-4413 or visit and register at www.cbs-homes.com