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Montana company (Headwaters Composites Inc.) turns glass, Billings power plant waste into countertops

THREE FORKS (AP) – That mayonnaise jar tossed into the recycling bin might one day end up back on the kitchen counter – only this time it’ll be in the counter.

Associated Press Billings Gazette

Headwaters Composites Inc., http://hcinnovation.com/c a Three Forks-based company, creates custom countertops made of recycled glass and power-plant waste. The mixture they whip up and pour into molds has a recycled content of more than 99 percent.

To crushed glass from Headwaters Cooperative Recycling’s drop-off bins and fly ash from a Billings coal-fired power plant, they add water and a trace amount of a proprietary ingredient, says Chuck Hedley, who developed the material and is now president of HCI.

The result is a durable, inert material that can be used to make not only counters, but also benches, stair treads, tabletops, custom in-lay furniture, flooring, planters, curb bumpers and so on.

It even has artistic possibilities. Whenever there’s a little mix left over after a job, Hedley or his research assistant, Doug Cross, create "fish pictures" by pouring it into a carved wooden mold. They’ve also collaborated with area artist Stuart Bond on furniture and art pieces.

"The number of things we can do with this is phenomenal," Hedley said. "Applications are pretty much limited only by the imaginations of our customers. We’re game to try just about anything."

They’ve created curb bumpers for parking lots in Yellowstone National Park and benches for a riverside park in Three Forks. In addition, they’ve installed their countertops in a half dozen kitchens, with hopes of more to come.

The countertops cost about $80 a square foot installed, similar to DuPont’s popular Corian countertops. But Hedley’s product has the added selling point of being made from waste.

The natural color of the material is tan to buff, but it can be stained a number of earth tone shades, such as greens, browns and rusts. Black is the most popular color so far, Hedley said.

Multicolored specks of glass sparkle through the surface, although its sanded smooth and coated with a protective, food-compatible acrylic sealant.

One man wanted all green glass mixed into his black countertop, so he brought in his own collection of wine bottles to add to the mix.

Hedley, 42, holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Montana State University and developed the material in 1999 under a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology administered by MSU. It was intended for use in the university’s proposed EPICenter, a "green" building MSU had planned to start building in 2000, but never did.

Rather than have the research amount to no practical use, Hedley and his wife, Deb, the company’s business manager, decided to try to bring the material to market. Figuring out how best to do that has been a real challenge – especially since neither are marketing professionals.

"It’s been a pretty hard road," Hedley admitted. "I thought there’d be more demand, more interest."

Even coming up with a name for the product – something simple and unique with appeal to architects and interior designers – was a challenge, albeit a fun one. The couple eventually settled on Albian, and a patent is pending. The name will be forever dear to their hearts: it’s the first two letters of their children’s names, Alice, Bill and Anna.

Hedley and Cross handle every detail in their countertop projects, from helping homeowners decide what they want, to measuring up their kitchens, making the countertops and then finally traveling back to install them.

Besides reaching out to architects, the Hedleys haven’t tried to attract customers because they’re in a Catch-22 situation. They’re just barely getting enough business to make ends meet, but on the other hand, they couldn’t handle a sharp increase in orders.

One possible future path would be to establish some type of satellite operations, Hedley said, where people in various locations learn how to make Albian and cover specific geographical territories.

Another possibility if warranted by a sharp increase in orders would be to significantly scale up production at the Three Forks headquarters and then ship finished products off to installers. Weight is a concern with that route, however, as Albian is heavy. One square foot that’s 1.5 inches thick weighs about 16 pounds.

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

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