Green building supply pioneers merge

Two of the nation's largest and oldest green building materials companies have merged.

Seattle's Environmental Home Center this week purchased Environmental Building Supplies, with locations in Portland and Bend, Ore. Environmental Home Center, founded in 1992, has a showroom and call center in Seattle that serves all 50 states. The showroom sells sustainably harvested wood flooring, cabinets, decking and other household construction materials. Environmental Building Services, started in Portland in 1993, also offers and installs household green building materials, including flooring and solar energy panels.

The merged company will keep the identities of its existing stores, company officials said. The company's consolidated buying power will also result in improved inventories, said Tim Taylor, CEO of the merged company, which will operate under the Environmental Home Center name.

"It's a business marriage with two equally dynamic partners," Taylor added. "Both businesses are thriving, but as we combine our respective expertise, products and services we expect greater business strength and positive environmental impacts." 

Nationally, green building services is a booming industry. The National Association of Home Builders reported 20 percent growth in 2005 and projects 30 percent growth in 2006, fueled, in part, by $11 trillion in homeowner equity. For their part, Environmental Home Center and Environmental Building Services have seen growth of 20 to 30 percent annually during the past five years.