Global sustainability is the cornerstone of modern businesses, and it is our goal to decrease our company’s global environmental impact. Our company strives to go above and beyond social, economic and political guidelines to provide our customers with high-quality, dependable, and sustainable products. We are committed to producing first-class products that meet today’s needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

At Siewers, we strive to reduce the impact that our operations have on the global environment through sustainable initiatives including recycling paper, plastic, sawdust and wood debris throughout all phases of production. Our commitment to the environment encompasses all phases of production, and this is evident through the Forest Products Chain-of-Custody, by which we abide. Our company only conducts business with reputable vendors who adhere to environmentally friendly and sustainable practices.

Our specific goals include educating employees, consumers, and the community on the importance of environmentally friendly practices. Our team makes every effort to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, minimize waste by recycling materials, and work with suppliers that share our desire to promote environmentally conscious business practices.

Siewers in the Marketplace
A renewable resource is an organic natural resource which can replenish to overcome usage and consumption, either through biological reproduction or other naturally reoccurring processes in a finite amount of time. Renewable resources are a part of Earth’s natural environment and the largest components of its ecosphere. Sustainability is defined as the capacity to endure; specifically meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. With all this in mind, the following explains Siewers’ viewpoint in relation to our products and the environment.

Siewers and Wood
Wood is beautiful and sustainable, and therefore is the backbone of this company. Wood products are reusable, biodegradable, and recyclable. Since our nation was founded, wood has remained among the most widely used and popular building materials. It is universally admired for its natural beauty, warmth, and character. At the same time, wood has many qualities which are not generally known. Wood is revered for its astonishing strength, minimal maintenance, flexibility, insulating power, and durability. Perhaps the biggest misconception about the forest products industry is the impact on our nation’s trees. This misconception is often derived from mass media, which portrays forest harvesting as a destructive operation that results in barren wastelands. This is no longer the case. Foresters today agree that harvesting mimics natural disturbances like wildfire, windthrow, ice storms, insect defoliation, and diseases. Forests have natural life cycles, and harvesting allows for the salvage of trees that would not be utilized otherwise. Decaying trees release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is damaging to our ozone layer. Instead of allowing trees to release harmful CO2, harvesting allows for our nation to increase the number of trees present, and therefore increase the amount of carbon stored in the environment. Immediately following a timber harvest, a replanting or regeneration scheme is utilized to begin the construction of a new forest. In fact, there are six trees planted for every one tree that is cut. The United States has more trees today than it had 100 years ago. This is primarily due to replanting forests instead of the traditional method of converting the land to agricultural purposes. Forests provide many environmental benefits including improving air and water quality, soil stabilization, wildlife habitat, absorption of CO2 and air pollutants, releasing oxygen, and aesthetics.

Framer Series Lumber
Weyerhaeuser’s performance-tested framer series lumber is the result of a computerized grading system. This lumber is guaranteed to start straight and stay straight. Each board crown is individually marked to save time on the jobsite. Better boards lead to less waste in the field.

• Eliminates waste: Guaranteed against warp
• Crown: An arrow indicates the direction of crown on every board
• Anti-Stain agent: Provides sapstain and mold control
• Green: SFI Certified
• Guaranteed: Guaranteed to stay straight

Siewers and Engineered Wood and Wood By-Products
Engineered wood, also called manufactured board, includes wood products which are created by binding individual strands, fibers, veneers or boards of wood using adhesives and resins to form composite materials.
These products utilize wood debris that would traditionally be wasted during forest harvesting operations. These products use a higher percentage of fiber from the forest, which would traditionally be burned, left to decay or wasted. Engineered wood products sequester carbon and have natural heat properties which reduce energy use by limiting heat transfer. Excess sawdust, woodchips and wood debris from sawmills are recycled to make wood by-products and wood composite materials
Some of our Engineered Wood and Wood By-Products include:

• Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)
• Edge Gold Panels/Advantech/OSB Panels
• Wood I-Beams
• Hardboard
• Miratec

Siewers and “Man-Made” Products
Here at Siewers we also offer a variety of “man-made” products as an alternative to traditional wood. Many of these products are created by using a variety of recycled material from other industries. These products also allow for increased durability and rot resistance.
Man-Made Products Include:
Boral TruExterior Products: Boral is derived from a coal-combustion by-product, “fly ash”. Boral guarantees that at least 70% of the material in each board is recycled material. Boral products are suitable for ground contact and do not require end-sealing adhesives. In addition, Boral products can be painted any color.

PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride, or PVC, is another wood alternative that Siewers offers to its customers. PVC production releases smaller amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere than metal or glass products and is 100% recyclable. In addition, PVC can reduce energy consumption due to its low thermal conductivity.

Homasote: Homasote is composed of all-natural, heavyweight jute fabric laminated to structural Homasote fiberboard. The material is made of 98% recycled materials, most of which is derived from recycled newspapers. Homasote is non-toxic and mold-resistant. In addition, it is protected against termites and fungi.

Azek Pavers: Azek Composite Pavers are one of the most intriguing products produced in a while. They are durable and easy to install, and they are very eco-friendly: made from recycled material with a low embodied energy content, permeable for drainage, and offering substantial LEED credits. Azek Pavers are produced from approximately 95% post-consumer recycled material: a composite masonry made from scrap plastics and rubber. In addition, they are also 100% recyclable into new pavers and grids. Production of this product consumes 94% less energy than similar concrete products. Azek Pavers can contribute to LEED credits in several areas, including, “Recycled Content”, “Stormwater Design”, “Regional Materials”, “Heat Island Effect”, and “Construction Waste Management”.

Siewers and Recycling
Recycling is one of the most fundamental ways to preserve and protect the natural environment. At Siewers, recycling and reducing waste is paramount. All of the sawdust generated from our planing mill is collected in a trailer and transported to a poultry litter company which utilizes the sawdust for poultry beds. After its poultry use, it is spread in agricultural fields as fertilizer. A waste dumpster collects our by-products, of which 80% is recycled.

Siewers and “Green”
At Siewers, we believe wholeheartedly in the Green Movement and we apply that idea to everything we do. Wood products are renewable and sustainable, and therefore form the cornerstone of our company. Our wood products are 100% renewable and the man-made products we offer are composed of mostly recycled materials and are recyclable themselves. It is our mission to not only provide the highest quality product possible, but to also produce and sell our products in the most environmentally friendly way possible.