The Rewall Company of Des Moines is using a European process to turn the cartons into construction building panels. The boards can be left natural where you see all the words and colors of the cartons (naked board) or a paper coating (essential board) is applied to both sides.  Either product can be painted. You could panel your basement or go ultra-modern and make an accent wall in your living room.

The product is made from post-consumer and post-industrial waste content found within 500 miles of Des Moines. Rewall is working with Metro Waste to obtain post-consumer product from the Des Moines area. 

The 8 foot by 4 foot panel is virtually inert and water resistant. I personally soaked a piece of naked board in water for a week and the panel barely changed.  Anywhere you have used plywood or oriented strand board this 100% recycled product can be used.  Examples are under countertops, paneling, tile backer board, floor sheathing, and roof sheathing.

The product can be purchased at the Habitat Restore in Des Moines or Kinzler Companies in Ames.  You can buy 1/2” x 4’ x 8’ naked panels for $26.00 or 1/2” x 4’ x 3’ essential board for $5.75.  Tanner Kinzler of Kinzler Companies says he is always looking to replace existing products with others which perform better, cost less, and are greener.  He is excited about Rewall.

So next time you throw a milk carton in your recycle bin, you may see it next in your kitchen remodeling.

To see a related Business Record story, click here.

- Rob Smith

Images via aedairy.com and Google images respectively.

That's what 14-year-old Moshe Kai Cavalin believes. His new book, "We Can Do," hopes to inspire other kids to do amazing things by focusing and approaching everything with total commitment. He means it. And lives it. He has earned two Associates Degrees since he was 8 and is about to graduate with honors from UCLA. He does more than just study though. He enjoys -- and excels at -- scuba diving, soccer, and martial arts.

Oh, and did I mention he's written a book, published in both Chinese and English, and did the translation himself?

Cavalin is to be commended. Being that focused and committed is not easy at any age. But I bet that Cavalin isn't facing a big mortgage or worrying about rising gas prices. Just how practical, and healthy, is all this talk about working hard?

• Can we -- as leaders and business owners -- work hard without becoming workaholics?
• Can we be focused without becoming one-dimensional?
• Can we be totally committed without losing perspective?

We can. We do. Everyday. It's about rolling up our sleeves and:

• defining what's really important to us -- our values. That provides focus.
• putting in extra time and effort which leads to new challenges and opens new doors
• committing 100% not just to our own success, but to our manager, our team members, our peers, our organization.

Thomas Edison said, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Cavalin's been enamored by "overalls" for half his life. You can be too!

There was an interesting article about a new start-up company called AutoSlash in the New York Times this past weekend.  AutoSlash says they will get you the best price on a car rental by constantly checking for better deals even after the reservation is made.  What caught my attention was how many of the auto rental companies had decided to allow AutoSlash to work within their reservation systems and coupon systems to deliver these low prices. 

This seems like an interesting move. I can understand why the low dollar rental companies may want to pursue this, but one company that is connected is Hertz.  Given their reputation for being on-premise and having covered parking for the cars among other ammenities, it just seems odd. Maybe they figure that in a tie on price they will win the business?

For a new business starting out or a business trying to grow, competing on price does not make sense long term.  Sure, you can use price to bring new customers into your business, but only if you think you can keep them over time for repeat sales or sell them something else while they are there.  Walgreens is famous for this strategy.  They will discount something heavily to get customers to the store but they make up for their loss leader sales with other purchases.

Competing on price alone signals to the customer they should always expect the lowest price. While this will win you some business, you will have a harder time keeping your customers long term.  A price-only buyer does not tend to be a loyal customer.

Use price where needed to bring customers into your business.  But when doing this, make sure you know you will keep them over time at reasonable margins or sell them other items that will make up the margin hit. 

Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org
www.startupmodels.com