Tulsa World: Area manufacturer's work is well built

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Area manufacturer's work is well built
Energy-efficient construction catches on

Clyde Sare (right), owner of USA SIPS, and Michael Sager, developer of First Street Lofts, examine some of the insulated panels that have been added inside the First Street Lofts building at 310 E. First St. in downtown Tulsa. CORY YOUNG / Tulsa World

By LAURA SUMMERS World Correspondent
Published: 6/30/2009 2:17 AM
Last Modified: 6/30/2009 5:47 AM

BARTLESVILLE — "Green" building and new urbanism are more than just buzz phrases for Bartlesville manufacturer USA SIPS Inc., which is on the front lines of energy-efficient building in Oklahoma and beyond.

USA SIPS, owned by Bartlesville native Clyde Sare, makes structural insulated panels — SIPs — that are being used in building projects in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. In Tulsa, the panels are part of the First Street Lofts, a Vision 2025 tax-supported project, and the Cherry Street Nine town homes on Rockford Avenue just north of 15th Street.

"This is Green Country, after all," said Eric Jaekel, director of manufacturing at USA SIPS. "There's a group of Tulsa and Oklahoma City architects and builders who have gravitated toward green building. I see Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma as being very much a hotbed for that activity.

"We're out to make this area as energy efficient as possible."

The panels, with their built-in insulation, are used in residential and commercial construction. A big advantage is that the product allows construction crews to frame, sheet and insulate in one step.

Business is booming for Sare, who in the last year or so has increased the Bartlesville plant's size by 70 percent and purchased new equipment.

Sare purchased the company in 2002 and moved the manufacturing operation from St. Louis to Bartlesville. The company has seven employees, but it will hire more as growth continues, he said.

USA SIPS is now working on its largest project — a 140,000-square-foot school in Greensburg, Kan., the tornado-ravaged community that decided to rebuild as the nation's first "green city."

Meanwhile, USA SIPS is working on a 150-home neighborhood in Branson, Mo., and a 314-unit new urbanist neighborhood in Stillwater that ultimately will include houses, apartments, retail and restaurant areas, a community building and a community garden.

The company also has designed a catalog of manufactured homes to be constructed from the panels. The catalog harkens to the days of Craftsman Style homes with large front porches. Sare plans to construct some of the homes as infill housing in downtown Bartlesville.

"It's an attractive option for builders who want to do it themselves," Jaekel said. "Basic carpenter skills are all you need."

Sare said the insulated panels produced in Bartlesville are cut to sizes that easily fit to a building plan, which down waste costs for the builder, who has less to discard when the project is completed.

The products, which are certified as part of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design programs, or LEED, also contribute to lower utility bills.

USA SIPS is certified under the international building code. Municipal building inspectors are becoming more familiar with the product, too.

"The city of Tulsa has already approved using SIPs to make firewalls," Sare said. "It's simpler to build, and it makes it less expensive than it is in the traditional manner."

For the First Street Lofts, a Michael Sager project in the Blue Dome district of downtown Tulsa, structured insulated panels were used to form the roof and interior wall partitions.

The panels form the walls in the Cherry Street town homes billed as Tulsa's greenest residential living experience. Located at 1409 and 1411 S. Rockford Ave., the Nine — for New Inspiration for a Natural Environment — housing advertises its high-energy efficiency in a contemporary setting.

More information about USA SIPS is available at 336-2500 or online at tulsaworld.com/usasips .

By LAURA SUMMERS World Correspondent

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marc57, Tulsa (6/30/2009 3:06:07 PM)

this is great been looking for a place close to buy these know people who hve homes built with this and tey are low cost heat & cool

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