Valley move pays off for insulation business

WASILLA — Dick Divelbiss said he made the right choice moving his insulation manufacturing plant to the Valley.

The business had been in the same building in Anchorage since 1981, Divelbiss said. It was time for a change. So, they moved to the new plant just off of Blue-Lupine Drive on the Seward Meridian Parkway end. He said it was also a good choice for his bottom line.

“Things are a little more affordable out here for businesses and growth,” Divelbiss said.

His company, Thermo-Kool of Alaska, makes insulation for buildings out of recycled cardboard and paper. Business is good enough that he’s snapping up paper wherever he can get it.

“It comes out of Fairbanks, Kenai, Anchorage, Wasilla — but we bring it in and pretty much use all the newspaper that’s recycled in the state,” he said.

Which, he said, is getting kind of hard lately. He’s brought in new equipment to handle baled cardboard.

“The availability of newsprint is getting scarcer and scarcer every day now,” he said. “We still prefer newspaper because it’s cheaper on the commodities market.”

He only buys his feedstock from Alaska sources and only sells his finished products in the state. Thermo-Kool products can be found at Spenard Builders Supply stores and at Home Depot and Lowes, all up and down the road system.

In addition to the insulation, Thermo-Kool makes a mulch for use in hydroseeding projects and a bedding for farm animals.

The process of turning paper into insulation involves more than just grinding. The material has to be treated to make it fire-retardant.

“When you think about it, they build the house all out of wood and we’re actually one of the few building products that treat their products for fire retardancy.”

Divelbiss said he’s originally from Washington State and had been in the convenience store business prior to his foray into insulation. His wife was raised in Alaska and, having visited a few times, he and his wife decided Alaska was the right place to rise their kids. So eight years ago they bought Thermo-Kool from Tom Davis, who started the business in 1977.

He said leaving the convenience store business wasn’t a hard decision to make.

“I like it much better. You’re not open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and it’s a neat product. I enjoy making it and getting it out there,” Divelbiss said. “There’s a lot of people who claim they’re green, and you can’t get much greener than what we’re doing.”

Talking to him, you get the sense Divelbiss really means it when he says he enjoys the product. He can go on for quite awhile without having to pause to think when talking about the difference between cellulose and fiberglass insulation. It can get kind of wonky and technical.

“It’s fire retardant, so there’s not an issue there, it wicks moisture great,” Divelbiss said. “It can hold its weight in moisture and then wick it back out over time.”

The long and the short of it is that he believes his product insulates better, saves homeowners money and is environmentally friendly. And the future looks great.

“As long as the economy keeps chugging along we’ll be alright,” he said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.