CalStar Products has closed a USD15m equity investment to fund the growth and expansion of its green building materials business.
Nth Power, a venture capital fund focused on energy and cleantech investing, led the equity round that includes new investors The Westly Group and Clearpoint Capital as well as continuing investors Foundation Capital and EnerTech Capital.
CalStar’s fly ash bricks and pavers require 85 per cent less energy and generate 85 per cent less carbon dioxide in their manufacturing.
In January, the company opened its first manufacturing plant in Caledonia, Wisconsin. CalStar has assembled a network of 29 brick dealers across the US to serve the demand for these products from architects and builders for their LEED building and sustainable hardscape projects.
"This oversubscribed round confirms again that investors see the same attractive opportunity in green building materials that we do. In its insightful white paper, Innovating for Better Buildings, Nth Power articulates the factors that are coming together to make this moment a ‘Perfect Storm’ for transforming the construction and building sector. CalStar’s unique approach to the brick and hardscape business is perfectly aligned with that vision," says Tom Pounds, CalStar’s chief executive.
"We’re entering an era when carbon- and energy-efficient products that are competitively priced and deliver excellent performance in place are being specified by all of the leading architectural firms. CalStar is well-positioned to take market share immediately, but it also has the potential to permanently replace supply from many of the nation’s shuttered brick plants," adds Bryant Tong, managing director of Nth Power.
CalStar Products develops and manufactures sustainable building products that allow green architects and specifiers to reduce the energy and CO2 footprint of their projects.
