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Last week’s letter of intent issued by the city council to HIB Systems was the first public “baby step” in the ongoing courtship that may bring the Meissehheim, Germany-based eco-block manufacturer to the newly constructed Greensburg industrial park. The company, which donated the installation and supplies for the yet-to-be-completed Meadowlark House, has expressed its desire to make its new home in the small southwestern Kansas town.
“Our goal is to build our North American headquarters here in Greensburg, but this is possible only if we get funding,” said North American HIB representative Jan Hoetzel. “So at the moment we are looking for investors. We need $2 million to make this happen.”
Although the city’s press release suggests that the deal has been completed, and a number of Kansas newspapers have reported on its finality, the occupancy of HIB is still unofficial. When asked on Monday morning if the deal had been completed and lease agreements signed, HIB General Contractor Orval Howell, who has been at the forefront of the HIB/Greensburg negotiations, stated unequivocally “it has not.”
The proposed facilities would employ an estimated 24 people plus 3-4 supervisors inside a 10,000 sq. ft multi-function building.
Currently the HIB factory in Germany operates alongside the Black Forest saw mill, a company founded by HIB inventor Dieter Junker’s family. According to Junker, their German factory employs 14 people at the sawmill and 14 people at the HIB facility. The proposed Greensburg headquarters would be larger than their home factory in Germany and capable of producing 500 houses per year.
“The wood price in Germany is really high,” said Hoetzel. “So here we have another sourcing possibility for wood with a much better pricing range. Plus, the market in Germany is totally different. There are many buildings that are hundreds of years old, so there are not so many new houses being built as there are [in the U.S.]. Here they are looking for one thousand houses, many houses, because of the space and rebuilding.”
HIB also recognizes the need for educating contractors and the headquarters would be a place to certify U.S. builders.
“We will have system partners all over the U.S. and they would need to be trained. Basically they would come here and get trained, certified.”
HIB has been traveling the region heavily for the past year, attempting to drum up investors and sell potential customers on their products’ diversity and sustainability. Their product is a wooden building block that can be filled with different types of insulation and the company boasts that houses built using their system will see $400-$500 annual energy costs with only a $10,000 additional construction expense. The company also claims that the structures can withstand 200 mph winds. A German University study concluded that the systems, when built to certain specifications, could withstand earthquakes of 6.0 to 6.5 without structural damage.
But the company is not just looking at Greensburg, it has explored other regional options and has also received incentives and offers from other towns. Howell was adamant that HIB wants to build in Greensburg, but stopped short of guaranteeing that the deal would get done.
“We have had offers from a lot of different towns,” said Howell. “We’re not saying we wouldn’t eventually build a factory in Texas, or Oklahoma or Missouri, but we want to make Greensburg the headquarters.”
Last week’s letter of intent issued by the city council to HIB Systems was the first public “baby step” in the ongoing courtship that may bring the Meissehheim, Germany-based eco-block manufacturer to the newly constructed Greensburg industrial park. The company, which donated the installation and supplies for the yet-to-be-completed Meadowlark House, has expressed its desire to make its new home in the small southwestern Kansas town.
“Our goal is to build our North American headquarters here in Greensburg, but this is possible only if we get funding,” said North American HIB representative Jan Hoetzel. “So at the moment we are looking for investors. We need $2 million to make this happen.”
Although the city’s press release suggests that the deal has been completed, and a number of Kansas newspapers have reported on its finality, the occupancy of HIB is still unofficial. When asked on Monday morning if the deal had been completed and lease agreements signed, HIB General Contractor Orval Howell, who has been at the forefront of the HIB/Greensburg negotiations, stated unequivocally “it has not.”
The proposed facilities would employ an estimated 24 people plus 3-4 supervisors inside a 10,000 sq. ft multi-function building.
Currently the HIB factory in Germany operates alongside the Black Forest saw mill, a company founded by HIB inventor Dieter Junker’s family. According to Junker, their German factory employs 14 people at the sawmill and 14 people at the HIB facility. The proposed Greensburg headquarters would be larger than their home factory in Germany and capable of producing 500 houses per year.
“The wood price in Germany is really high,” said Hoetzel. “So here we have another sourcing possibility for wood with a much better pricing range. Plus, the market in Germany is totally different. There are many buildings that are hundreds of years old, so there are not so many new houses being built as there are [in the U.S.]. Here they are looking for one thousand houses, many houses, because of the space and rebuilding.”
HIB also recognizes the need for educating contractors and the headquarters would be a place to certify U.S. builders.
“We will have system partners all over the U.S. and they would need to be trained. Basically they would come here and get trained, certified.”
HIB has been traveling the region heavily for the past year, attempting to drum up investors and sell potential customers on their products’ diversity and sustainability. Their product is a wooden building block that can be filled with different types of insulation and the company boasts that houses built using their system will see $400-$500 annual energy costs with only a $10,000 additional construction expense. The company also claims that the structures can withstand 200 mph winds. A German University study concluded that the systems, when built to certain specifications, could withstand earthquakes of 6.0 to 6.5 without structural damage.
But the company is not just looking at Greensburg, it has explored other regional options and has also received incentives and offers from other towns. Howell was adamant that HIB wants to build in Greensburg, but stopped short of guaranteeing that the deal would get done.
“We have had offers from a lot of different towns,” said Howell. “We’re not saying we wouldn’t eventually build a factory in Texas, or Oklahoma or Missouri, but we want to make Greensburg the headquarters.”
