Kimball Office heads to Phoenix for Greenbuild Conference
Posted: 11.03.09
By Kimball Office Social Media Team

We’re off to the great Southwest next week to attend the Greenbuild Conference and Expo in Phoenix, Arizona. The year’s biggest sustainability-focused conference will be held November 11-13 at the Phoenix Convention Center.

At Greenbuild, you’ll find Kimball Office at Booth #3268 where we’ll be proudly showing off our latest sustainable product solutions, new Fluent desking and new Interstuhl seating lines; Mitos, Fit, Silver, Xantos, and “Hero. Just for You“.

All the products in our booth meet or exceed BIFMA level 1 standards for sustainable furniture, and all of them will meet YOUR standards for real office Wow factor!

And if all that isn’t enough to get you to attend, nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow will be on-hand to close the Keynote Address with a live concert!

If you can’t make it to Greenbuild, you can follow Kimball Office on Twitter, check our Flickr page for show photos, or visit our Facebook page. Don’t get left out!

And don’t forget to enter to win a Silver chair! You’ll never sit the same again.

Behind the Scenes: The UV Treatment Process
Posted: 07.23.09
By Kimball Office Social Media Team

Our newest product, Fluent, is one of several Kimball Office products that uses a proprietary UV treatment process that eliminates volatile organic compounds (VOCs), reducing our products’ environmental impact and improving indoor air quality. But I’ll admit, when I think UV, I think sunscreen. What is the UV process? How does it work?

Sam Ruckriegel, Director of Finish and Wood Technology

To get the scoop firsthand, I talked to Sam Ruckriegel, the mastermind behind the UV implementation in our Jasper, IN manufacturing facilities and the planned installation at our Salem, IN facility. As the Director of Finish and Wood Technology, Sam has a wealth of knowledge about why we selected the equipment, the process and our future endeavors.

KO: Why did Kimball Office decide to implement the Pura UV treatment process?

SR: Before sustainability was a household word, Kimball Office was looking at ways to meet and exceed our industry’s sustainability standards. Kimball’s team knew that it was important to continue to strive to reduce emissions, VOCs and off-gassing to reduce our furniture’s impact on the environment. One of those initiatives was UV treatment. Kimball actually sought me out as a contractor to help them get started, and when my contract expired, I joined the team full-time.

KO: So tell me, how does it work?

SR: There are two types of UV finish that we use. One is a water-based spray. It doesn’t have any harmful chemicals – it’s a water-borne carrying agent for fluids. The other is 100 percent solid…in liquid form. Try to wrap your mind around that! If you want to get technical, it’s Read more…

Kimball Office Receives level Certification for Entire Product Portfolio
Posted: 07.01.09
By Kimball Office Social Media Team

We’re excited to announce that we’ve just received level certification for our entire product portfolio! Kimball Office is one of the first organizations to be awarded level certification, a third-party validation of the BIFMA e3 sustainability standard, for an entire product portfolio.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me explain what the sustainability standard is and why level certification is such an honor. BIFMA is the trade association for the commercial furniture industry. The e3 sustainability standard was developed for office furniture manufacturers and suppliers. The standard is holistic, addressing every aspect of a product’s life cycle, including raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, usage, reuse (or recycling) and disposal.

Just like LEED, level certification requires certain prerequisites, optional credits and conformance levels. You can earn credits in four categories:

• Materials
• Energy and atmosphere
• Human and ecosystem health
• Social responsibility

To achieve certification, Read more…