Smith & Fong was founded in 1989 out of a truly passionate affinity for bamboo and with an overarching philosophy of sustainability. The firm has been pushing for a cleaner, greener future for more than two decades with its Smith Fong Bamboo Pure® products at the front lines. Now Smith Fong Bamboo Pure is joined by SoyBond™ Bamboo Plywood Panels and Bamboo Flooring.

In 2007 Smith & Fong announced it would be converting its manufacturing operations to run urea formaldehyde-free adhesives (Smith Fong BambooPure®) on its plywood, flooring and veneer lines. By fall of 2009, the company had gradually adapted Soybond™ bamboo flooring and panel manufacturing processes alongside its Smith Fong Bamboo Pure® product offerings.

Adhesives are a crucial element in both the integrity and durability of a wood product and can have a major impact on indoor air quality and the environment at large. Smith & Fong Co. parthered with Ashland Inc. in 2007 to develop a bio-based adhesive solution for the Smith Fong Bamboo Pure® line of bamboo plywood and bamboo flooring products. The partnership resulted in the creation of SoyBond™. SoyBond™ is a proprietary panel manufacturing system based on Ashland Inc.’s Soyad® adhesive technology. The product exhibits excellent mechanical properties that meet or exceed all current standards in the industry. In addition, the workability and bio-based nature of SoyBond™ make it both easy to work with and safe to use.

Smith & Fong products pass the California Air Resources Board (CARB)’s groundbreaking formaldehyde regulations for composite panels. And all standard Smith Fong Bamboo Pure® sheet goods have passed California’s Section 01350 VOC-emissions testing-the strictest indoor air quality criteria in existence. Many Smith & Fong products earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Credit EQ 4.4: No Added Urea Formaldehyde.