Spruce Pine – Through the efforts of the local state legislative delegation, the Town of Spruce Pine will soon see ten new jobs in downtown along with the complete renovation and redesign of the former Express Market CITGO Station building. State Representative Phillip Frye and State Senator Joe Sam Queen joined hands to advocate on behalf of the town for the funding of a $199,124 N.C. Rural Economic Development Center Building Reuse Grant to help support the project. Frye and Queen were notified late last week that the grant was approved.

Grant funds will be used to re-construct the Oak Avenue (Upper Street) building known locally as the CITGO Service Station. Vacant for a number of years, the building was recently purchased by Highland Craftsmen, Inc., a manufacturer of poplar bark shingles and specialty wood products used in the building trades. Highland is located across the street from the station property. Spokesperson Chris McCurry said “Highland plans to use the building as a design center for an expanded Barkhouse Brand product line and additional manufacturing space.” The project is part of a downtown campus plan that the company is working toward to accommodate growing demand for its products.  Once complete the project will create at least ten new jobs, according to McCurry.

“This project will bring some much-needed manufacturing jobs to the town as well as serve as an integral part of the long range strategic plan Highland Craftsmen has for improving the aesthetics of that part of downtown,” Rep. Frye said. “I’m all about jobs,” Frye continued, “and this shows how the town, its businesses and state legislators can work together to make something positive happen.”

Senator Joe Sam Queen said, “I know the challenges Spruce Pine and Mitchell County have faced in recent years with the loss of so many manufacturing jobs. When we have a chance to create new jobs or save existing jobs in my district, I’ll be working actively with business and industry, local and state elected officials and state and federal agencies to make sure it happens.  I was proud to help make this happen for Spruce Pine and its citizens.”

The grant is awarded to the Town on behalf of Highland Craftsmen and will be administered through execution of agreements between the company, the Town, and the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center. Highlands Craftsmen will provide over $200,000 toward project costs to match the grant funds.

Media Contact:
Chris McCurry
828.765.9010
chris@barkhouse.com

(Spruce Pine, NC) North Carolina Department of Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, along with officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) presented its distinguished Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) award to Highland Craftsmen Inc at the company’s manufacturing facility in Spruce Pine, NC. Company employees were joined by state, county and town representatives.  These included Juleigh Sitton, the Director of Governor Perdue’s Western Office; Mitchell County Manager Charles Vines; Town of Spruce Pine Mayor, Ralph Hise and Town Manager Richard Canipe.

SHARP is the highest honor OSHA awards to small worksites that demonstrate an exemplary commitment to workplace safety and health. There are eighty-nine SHARP companies in North Carolina.  Forty-one of those are in the West district, which contains thirty-five counties.  HC is the first business in Mitchell County to receive this honor.

During the ceremony, HC owner, Marty McCurry thanked the employees for their daily contribution to the company’s success, stating, “We spend more time together than we do with our families.  It’s important that we take care of each other and providing a safe work environment is our primary responsibility”.  McCurry went on to thank the community for its support.

Highland Craftsmen Inc is a company that has created many new products from what was once considered forest waste, including their nationally acclaimed Bark House^® brand shingles.  This involved designing and constructing several new tools.  HC VP and Occupational Health Nurse, Chris McCurry states “We didn’t just want to get the job done, we wanted to do it right”.  Chris and company Safety Manager, Gary McCurry, coordinated OSHA visits to ensure that the company lives up to it’s guiding principle, “Simply do your best on everything, every time”.  At the end of the process, HC staffers would definitely recommend calling the OSHA team in to review company policies and procedures.  “They were thorough, but great to work with,” acknowledges Gary.  “With OSHA’s help, we have improved our safety program with participation from all employees.”

Acceptance into SHARP by OSHA identifies a company as a model for worksite safety and health. Upon receiving SHARP recognition, a worksite is exempt from programmed inspections for two years. After this exemption period is over, the employer may be awarded a renewal of up to three years.

Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that more than $330,000 in federal Recovery Act funds have been awarded to eight North Carolina “Main Street” communities to help with energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives.  The grants are the first distribution of money from the North Carolina Energy Program for the state’s Main Street initiative.

“North Carolina continues to use recovery funds for job creation and energy efficiency,” said Gov. Perdue.  “These grants will provide service jobs for local businesses and help local communities save money on utility bills.”

Federal Recovery Act funds handed down through The North Carolina Energy Office, in partnership with the N.C. Main Street Center making a difference in long-term sustainable changes for energy efficiency.

Specific to Spruce Pin, NC and Highland Craftsmen: $66,938 for the installation of a solar photovoltaic system to be located on the roof of a vacant service station in downtown Spruce Pine.  The solar system will produce a 12.3 percent energy cost reduction in the first year of operation for Craftsmen Inc./The Calafate Group.  The energy generated from the solar system will be used to partially offset the costs associated with operating drying kilns which are used in the manufacturing process to dry, sterilize, and convert large sections of tree bark into the company’s “Bark House” brand exterior shingles.  Funding will also assist in energy efficiency upgrades of three kilns. In total, the project represents a 52.3 percent reduction in energy use by the manufacturer.

Click here to See the Full Press Release from The NC Office of Economic Recovery

Press Release – For Immediate Release
Highland Craftsmen Inc.’s sustainable products training receives Green Business Fund Award.

Spruce Pine, NC, November 24th, 2009 – Governor Bev Perdue issued an official press release last week at the Energy Policy Council meeting announcing the 2009 Round 2 Green Business Fund Awardees that included Highland Craftsmen Inc. This is part of an initiative to strengthen state energy policy leadership and grow the Governor’s JobsNOW Green Economy Plan.

Highland Craftsmen Inc. is honored to be a recipient of the Green Innovation Award. This acknowledgement is related to a successful job training seminar the company sponsored on sustainable forestry and bark harvesting. Participants stated that the seminar was both timely and needed in this area of the Southern Appalachians. The goal of the seminar was to link small landowners directly to sustainable forestry management organizations and proliferate sustainable forestry management. “By localizing the supply chain with certified local products, we are increasing the market share for local individuals, creating new jobs in high unemployment areas, and retaining the flow of capital within local economies,” explains company owner and organizer, Chris McCurry.

The seminar involved representatives coming from diverse arenas including NC State University, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), PEFC, Game and Wildlife and Pro-logger. There was local representation from Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Columbia Forest Products and The Southern Forests Network. “Dave Woodmanse from American Tree Farm was indispensible in helping to set up the daylong workshop,” McCurry noted.

Highland Craftsmen Inc will now be able to edit and duplicate the material presented at the seminar and distribute it to those who wish to learn from the presentation, but could not attend. One aspect of selling forestry products to Highland Craftsmen Inc is that vendors must have education in sustainable forestry practices. The company is “chain of custody” certified with FSC, SFI and PEFC as part of their commitment to managing forest land responsibly.

Governor Perdue states that “Strong leadership and smart investments are essential to laying a foundation for North Carolina to create green jobs, support green innovation and promote a sustainable future for our state’s economy and environment…Turning green into gold is a central part of my JobsNOW initiative and of my vision to grow North Carolina’s long-term economy.”

Highland Craftsmen Inc is the Original Polar Bark Shingle manufacturer, which has created a new industry in the Appalachian region to help grow the “green collar jobs” that Governor Perdue references. The company’s mission from inception in 1990 has been to produce a product line that is harmonious with nature (green) and minimizes the impact of construction. HC is proud to call North Carolina home and is involved and invested in the community through volunteering, serving on boards and town revitalization projects. The company’s Bark House brand exterior shingle siding is Cradle to Cradle CertifiedCM at the Gold Level. To learn more about Highland Craftsmen Inc and Bark House brand products, visit the website at www.BarkHouse.com.

Contact: Chris McCurry
Tel: 828-765-9010
Email: chris@barkhouse.com

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Press Release – For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris McCurry
Tel: 828-765-9010
Email: chris@barkhouse.com

Spruce Pine, NC, November 10th, 2009 – Bark House^® brand exterior shingle siding is now Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM at the Gold Level. Products are rated by C2C for material content, recyclability, manufacturing characteristics and the company’s social accountability. This is a high honor to achieve. Highland Craftsmen Inc and the Bark House^® brand’s mission since inception in 1990 has been to minimize the impact of building through harmonization with nature. When HC started out to revive bark architecture and reinvent modern-day processes for manufacturing Bark House^® shingles from poplar bark, utilizing green practices, green was still considered a color, not a building practice. Today HC joins a growing list of destination as a leader in green technology that have embraced a process to “tangibly, credibly measure achievement in environmentally-intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader definition of quality.”

Owner Chris McCurry explains, ” the C2C certification helps Highland Craftsmen Inc. communicate how serious we are about the role we take in sustainable building practices.” McCurry found the demanding certification process helpful as it evaluated the company as a whole rather than just an individual product. As stated by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC , “Cradle to Cradle Certification assesses products for their ingredients’ human and environmental health characteristics, their recyclability or compostability, and manufacturing process – including renewable energy use, water stewardship and social responsibility.”

From MBDC website “Cradle to Cradle Design is a fundamental conceptual shift away from the flawed system design of the Industrial Revolution. Instead of designing products and systems based on the take-make-waste model of the last century (‘cradle to grave’), MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle Design paradigm is powering the Next Industrial Revolution, in which products and services are designed based on patterns found in nature, eliminating the concept of waste entirely and creating an abundance that is healthy and sustaining. Eco-Effectiveness is MBDC’s design strategy for realizing these results by optimizing materials to be food either for nature’s ecosystems or for humans’ industrial systems—perpetually circulating in closed systems that create value and are inherently healthy and safe.”

For years the Bark House^® brand has been known as a mark of distinction due to their sound research and unwavering commitment to quality. The C2C Certification is a natural capstone for an authentically good company that has sought third party certifications that reflect their commitment as an exemplary company that manufactures exemplary products. HC’s commitment to the environment is matched by their commitment to their local economy. HC created a brand new manufacturing industry that has generated hundreds of jobs for the Appalachian Region. These jobs will not be outsourced because of the materials point of origin and our rigorous processing timelines. HC continues to educate their suppliers and the public about the importance of sustainable procurement through educational activities and program sponsorships with local community colleges, universities and professional organizations. HC has a triple bottom line philosophy.

Bark House^® brand shingles are available through a number of distribution channels including Lowe’s Hardware. You may also call their family based North Carolina company at 828-765-9010 or visit their website at www.BarkHouse.com for more information. Highland Craftsmen Inc is the only company that manufactures The Bark House® brand, so ask for it by name.

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Bark houses originated as dwellings for indigenous peoples.  Certain barks peel easily from trees during different seasons.  Because complicated milling equipment was not necessary and bark was known as the protection for the tree, it was an easy transition to use the material for personal and family shelter.  It made sense.

In 1895, bark houses became more refined when society architect Henry Bacon created the first squared edge bark shingle from the American Chestnut Tree for an exclusive community in Linville, North Carolina.  An architect known for his ability to find the perfect solution to any problem, he is the designer of the world famous Lincoln Memorial.  After the chestnut tree blight, no one used bark for houses for 50 years.

Bark House has its roots in natural building.  Today, Bark House® is a leader in the shift toward sustainable or wholistic building technology.  Created from natural materials, it encompasses a diminished impact on the earth and biodegrades cleanly at the end of the lifecycle, creating a cradle to cradle model.  Highland Craftsmen Inc has made authentic living, Simple!