President Obama Highlights Serious Materials’ Successes, Including Green Jobs with New Mission of Producing Energy-Efficient Windows

Serious Materials Recognized for Its Innovation and Actions That Are Helping Our Country During This Challenging Time

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Serious Materials, the leading energy-saving building materials company in the U.S., was recognized by President Obama on Monday as he addressed over 100 clean energy entrepreneurs and leading researchers at the "Investing in the Clean Energy Economy" event held yesterday in Washington, DC. Highlighting various Serious Materials’ successes, including the recent re-opening of a windows plant in Pennsylvania, President Obama commended Serious Materials on creating jobs that will aid the recovery of our nation while innovating and creating the technologies that will fuel America’s long-term prosperity.

“Simply told, Serious Materials creates green building materials that save energy, save money and aggressively address climate change.”

President Obama commented, “Serious Materials, just reopened a manufacturing plant outside of Pittsburgh. Last year, that factory was shuttered and more than one hundred jobs were lost. The town was devastated. Today, that factory is whirring back to life, and Serious Materials is rehiring the folks who lost their jobs. And these workers will now have a new mission: producing some of the most energy-efficient windows in the world.”

Forced to close its doors last year, Serious Materials re-opened the windows manufacturing plant outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania earlier this month. This is just the sort of call to action President Obama is asking of cleantech companies. Hiring back former plant employees is a promising step towards the 3.5 million jobs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will save or create. Serious Materials looks to do the same thing with a Chicago plant, the second it has acquired this year.

Speaking fervently about the importance of companies like Serious Materials stepping up to answer the needs of the nation, President Obama stated, “We can remain the world’s leading importer of foreign oil, or we can become the world’s leading exporter of renewable energy. We can allow climate change to wreck unnatural havoc, or we can create jobs preventing its worst effects. We can hand over the jobs of the 21^st century to our competitors, or we can create those jobs right here in America.”

“Serious Materials is dedicated to reinventing the American building materials industry with a full commitment to green solutions, while reemploying today hundreds and tomorrow thousands of American workers,” said Paul Holland, a partner with Foundation Capital and a board member of Serious Materials, prior to introducing President Obama to the attendees. “Simply told, Serious Materials creates green building materials that save energy, save money and aggressively address climate change.”

“It is an honor to be recognized as a company that is helping to lead our economic recovery and push forward towards energy independence,” said Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials. “Working to counteract the negative impacts of climate change and saving Americans substantial energy in their homes and offices are essential endeavors, but doing so while recovering jobs for American workers makes me proud of all of our employees beyond words.”

As Serious Materials continues its 2009 ten-fold plan for expansion, the company will continue to hire new employees as demand increases for its highly-insulated SeriousWindows and SeriousGlass. SeriousWindows and SeriousGlass products deliver four times the energy saving performance of today’s Energy Star window standards and reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 50%. With 5% of all U.S. energy lost through inefficient windows, the significant impact that high-performance windows have on energy use becomes clear.

SeriousWindows are available in a full range of commercial and beautiful residential styles, including single-hung, double-hung, gliders, casement, sliding doors and swing doors as well as glass for curtain wall and storefront systems. Additionally, residential windows are available in a composite stainable woodgrain interior finish for high-end homes. Residential windows may be ordered now through authorized dealers across the U.S. Customers may call [phone] for more information or go to www.SeriousWindows.com.

About Serious Materials

Serious Materials develops and manufactures sustainable green building materials that save energy, save money, improve comfort and aggressively address climate change. The company was voted #1 at Cleantech Forum XII, won Global Gypsum Product of the Year 2008, won the first Aspen Institute award for innovation in Energy Conservation and was awarded Green Product of the Year by Popular Science. It has also been recognized by TIME/CNN, Fortune, Business Week, AlwaysOn and Red Herring as one of the top green technology companies. SeriousWindows and SeriousGlass reduce heating and cooling energy costs by up to 50% and improve occupant comfort. QuietRock® soundproof drywall and QuietHome Windows® reduce material use, enhance livability, and support dense sustainable urban construction. And EcoRock™ uses 80% less energy in its core production and has the potential to save billions of pounds of CO2 annually making it the only true green alternative to gypsum drywall and five times more environmentally friendly. The company is working to create thousands of cleantech jobs here in the U.S. For more information, visit www.SeriousMaterials.com.