CalStar Names Mike Lemberg as CFO

CalStar, manufacturer of sustainable masonry products, has appointed Mike Lemberg as its CFO. Lemberg has spent the last 15 years helping grow and scale early-stage companies, including the last six years in the sustainable products industry.

Lemberg brings a broad set of skills to the CFO position, including strategic planning, supply chain management, and corporate development in addition to the more traditional roles of the CFO.

“Mike brings tremendous strategic insight and financial experience along with his passion to help high-growth companies succeed,” says CalStar CEO Joel Rood. “His strong track record overseeing financial strategy and executing growth strategies at many emerging companies makes him a great choice for CalStar as we focus on rapidly expanding our share of the $12 billion U.S. masonry market.”

Lemberg most recently served as CFO for EcoSMART Technologies, a brand of safe and effective pesticides sold through retailers such as The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Walmart. Previous experience includes serving as VP of financial planning and analysis for UNICA (acquired by IBM), a global provider of enterprise marketing management software, and VP of corporate development and treasurer of Arbinet (2004 IPO), a leader in the electronics trading, routing and settling communications capacity market.

“I am excited to join such a fantastic team and investor group,” says Lemberg. “CalStar’s sustainable products have all the characteristics I seek in green solutions: They work as well as the traditional technology, have added benefits of sustainability and improved aesthetics, and do not carry a green price premium.”

Calstar Adds Second Shift to Manufacturing Plant

CalStar, manufacturer of affordable, sustainable masonry products, has expanded the capacity of its Caledonia, Wis., manufacturing plant with the addition of a second shift. The expansion will help the company meet growing demand across all of its product lines.

“Increasing interest in our products combined with the improving construction economy had begun to stretch delivery lead times beyond acceptable limits,” says Michael Telischak, VP of manufacturing for CalStar. “Adding a second shift has allowed us to accommodate that growth as well as further bolster our orders.”

The expansion created 17 new jobs at the plant, adding to the 38 existing staff in Caledonia and the 10 sales and marketing team members around the country. Along with new hires, the company’s internal training programs have helped several employees advance into positions of greater responsibility.

CalStar’s growth is felt across its brick, paver, and Thru-Wall lines. Among the largest drivers are a number of large facing-brick projects, such as a high school in Oxford, Miss.; springtime demand for pavers at more than 160 Home Depot locations; and skyrocketing orders for Thru-Wall units, including for several large retailers.

In addition, CalStar has added several new products to its offerings over the past six months, including wet cast products, 12 x 12 pavers, a monarch brick, and numerous colors and blends. The company also is able to create custom molds and color blends on special order for high-volume projects. One of its newest introductions, wet cast, has recently moved from pilot operation to production scale, and has been specified, along with CalStar brick, on high-profile projects, including Courtyard by Marriott and Walgreens’ ground-breaking net-zero store in Evanston, Ill.

“We are thrilled with the growing rate of demand for our masonry products and even more pleased to be adding jobs to the Southwest Wisconsin region,” says CalStar CEO Joel Rood. “This plant expansion is further proof that architects and masons have recognized the sustainability, affordability, and aesthetic benefits of CalStar bricks, pavers, Thru-Wall units, and wet cast products.”

Like all of CalStar’s masonry offerings, the newest products are manufactured with up to 37 percent recycled content in a process that uses up to 81 percent less energy and emits up to 84 percent less CO2. Along with their sustainability properties, the products also cost up to 10 percent less than traditional options.

Habitat for Humanity Home Is LEED Platinum

A home completed in Park City, Utah, by Habitat for Humanity of Summit and Wasatch Counties has been awarded LEED Platinum Certification. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) presented the homeowner and Habitat and the homeowner with a plaque certifying the platinum recognition.

 

Students from Salt Lake Community College’s (SLCC) building and construction program volunteered their time and expertise to help Habitat for Humanity build a home loaded with sustainable green features in Park City. The resulting LEED Platinum certification is the highest-level certification for energy efficiency and environmental design that single-family homes can receive.

Habitat for Humanity creates safe, healthy, decent, energy efficient and affordable housing to low-income families around the world. Salt Lake Community College’s building and construction program builds one or two homes each year as part of its curriculum. This particular project was unique for a Habitat for Humanity project and the college because the students’ participation in the project was written directly into the college’s curriculum.  

Three SLCC faculty members were involved working with students participating in the Habitat for Humanity project both in teaching and building. Three classes that had about 20 students each were involved with the project. College administrators plan on continuing to work with Habitat for Humanity on projects in the future.

First Winners of Holcim Awards Announced

The Holcim Awards Gold 2011 for Africa Middle East award and $100,000 were awarded to Diébédo Francis Kéré, of Kéré Architecture in Berlin, for a school project in Burkina Faso that uses only solar and wind power to cool the classrooms. By routing air through underground tubes, planting vegetation, and using double-skin roofs and facades, a significant thermal reduction is achieved.

Holcim Awards Silver went to a school refurbishment project in Palestine that improves natural ventilation and thermal insulation to create a comfortable climate and energy savings. Holcim Awards Bronze was presented to a sustainable construction training center in Morocco, which concentrates on the use of local resources.

Four Acknowledgement prizes were shared for projects in Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. The “Next Generation” (student category) prize-winning projects are located in Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa.

The Holcim Awards ceremony in Casablanca was the first of five events. Others will follow in Milan, Buenos Aires, Washington, D.C., and Singapore.

CalStar Adds Oversized Brick to Offerings

CalStar Products has introduced an oversized facing unit to complement its line of sustainably manufactured masonry. The facing unit can be used as a design element for base courses at grade and for contrast bands. The units contribute to multiple LEED credits on applicable projects.

CalStar says it uses proprietary technology to produce bricks that offer unique environmental benefits. The process incorporates 40 percent post-industrial recycled material as the binder, and avoids the energy-intensive kiln firing required for clay bricks. The manufacturing process uses 85 percent less energy and generates 85 percent less CO₂, compared to traditional fired brick.

The oversized facing unit is 4 X 8 X 24 inches in size, and is equivalent to a nine-brick soldier course, resulting in time-saving, simple installation. For more information, visit www.calstarproducts.com.