The Building – A slice of history
JS Benson Woodworking & Design employs nine craftsmen and three office workers in its 17,000-square foot building located in the historic Estey Organ Complex in Brattleboro, VT. The stone-and-timber building we inhabit looks much like it did when it produced reed and pipe organs but it has undergone many improvements that make it much more energy-efficient and comfortable. We've been in business since 1978 and in this location since 1989. We are a small company that has grown to over $1 million in sales per year.
More information about Estey Organs and the factory that produced them can be found at the Estey Organ Museum web site, the Brattleboro Historical Society, and Connecticut River Joint Commission history archive.
What makes Our Factory Green?
Over the last three decades, we’ve employed a combination of state-of-the-art technology and old-school common sense to continuously reduce both the resources we consume and the waste we produce. We hope you’ll share the pride we take in knowing the factory which made your windows has a near-zero environmental impact.
J.S. Benson Woodworking is currently in the process of achieving LEED certification for our 1890s-vintage factory building. Much of the work has already been done, including extensive insulation, energy-saving lighting, and a heating system powered exclusively by the wood waste produced by our manufacturing operation. Our heating system is a state-of-the-art wood gasification system that uses pellets that we produce ourselves to generate a clean-burning fuel gas. The system is so efficient that it takes only ¼ of the pellets we produce to heat our building, leaving several tons of “free” fuel to be sold or used for other purposes.
To take advantage of this energy surplus, we are in the process of developing a biomass-driven generator that will use the same wood waste to generate our own electric power and drive a geothermal air conditioning system. In the near-future, we hope to go one step further by producing our own fuel for the trucks that deliver our products.
About J. Steve Benson, founder, owner
As a student of fine art and architecture in the 1970s, Steve found his focus in the discipline of Architectural Woodworking. He founded his company in Boston in 1978 and won local recognition for craftsmanship and innovation, as noted in a Boston Globe article of 1984. In 1988, Steve was awarded a merit certificate by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects. He engineered the wood components for the Zone VI large-format line of field cameras, and produced them for many years. Steve designed a superior true divided light glazing system for the New England restoration market.
Steve is now the CEO and senior design engineer for J.S. Benson Woodworking & Design.
Visit Our Factory
Please come visit us to discuss your green building needs or just to say hi and take a tour of our operation. Since we’re pretty busy, it’s best to call ahead.
J.S. Benson Woodworking & Design, LLC is located at:
118 Birge Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
Directions:
From the East (Boston)
Take I-93 N about 22 miles
Take exit 44B to merge onto I-495 S toward Lowell and go about 19 miles.
Take exit 29B to merge onto MA-2 W toward Leominster and go about 34 miles.
Continue on MA-2 for about 28 miles.
Take the exit onto I-91 N toward Brattleboro VT and go about 16 miles.
Take exit 1 toward Brattleboro – go 0.2 mile.
Merge onto Canal St/US-5/US Route 5 – go 0.7 mile
Turn left at Birge St, go 0.2 mi, our factory will be on the left
From The South (New York):
Take I-95 North 190 miles
Take the exit onto I-91 N toward Brattleboro VT and go about 16 miles.
Take exit 1 toward Brattleboro – go 0.2 mile.
Merge onto Canal St/US-5/US Route 5 – go 0.7 mile
Turn left at Birge St, go 0.2 mi, our factory will be on the left |
