Roseburg green building material company plans 100 jobs

Roseburg-based Lacuna Inc. announced Thursday that it acquired the assets of APEX Block from Arxx Building Products Inc. and plans to expand in Roseburg with a new manufacturing plant and headquarters that will employ 100 people.

APEX Block, made from recycled expanded polystyrene (commonly called Styrofoam), can replace wood and concrete block as a building material. The blocks are wind-resistant and have the thermal properties of expanded polystyrene.

Dale Siens, Lacuna president and CEO, said he and seven business partners invested less than $1 million to restart production of the blocks at an existing plant in Phoenix.

“We believe this technology provides the sustainable attributes necessary to replace wood and concrete block as a major building material in the United States, China, Mexico, Africa and the Middle East, while increasing the quality of construction throughout the rest of the world,” Siens said in a press release.

The company intends to expand to 11 manufacturing plants, with the first opening in Roseburg later this year.