Verde Biofuel was started by Tim McClellan, also CEO of Western Heritage furniture. Tim has applied green ideals to his business since he founded Western Heritage Furniture in Seattle in 1991. Creating beautiful hand-made furniture from salvaged buildings and barns may be one of the best examples of recycling around. That's what McClellan and his 17 employees in Jerome do every day.
The wood, once removed from a dismantled barn, is taken to Jerome, where each piece goes through a multi-stage grading and selection process. The reclaimed wood then becomes part of a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture.
Wood that was ready for destruction - such as old tobacco barns, haylofts and homes - is given new life.
That is part of the company's commitment to excellence, environmental sensitivity and planet stewardship.
When the furniture is ready for delivery, it is hauled to a customer or retail location in vehicles that run on biodiesel fuel, made from cooking grease. McClellan was so committed to biodiesel fuel that he bought a small biodiesel processor. He and two of his brothers, Dennis and John, decided the processor could be mounted in a trailer. They liked the idea so much they founded Verde Biofuel, a company manufacturing and selling mobile processors.
"We are the only company on planet Earth that manufactures a self-contained, mobile biodiesel processor," McClellan said. "We've sold seven of them already."
Saving money is the key to getting companies interested in going green, McClellan said. "If it doesn't save the company money, they won't do it.
"It must be fiscally responsible before it's environmentally responsible," he said.
Visit www.whf-inc.com for more information about Western Heritage Furniture.
