Betting on age-old cinder block

The sum of experiences, from ASU's baseball team to the San Francisco Giants' minor league and trading in the pits at the Chicago Board of Trade, led alumna Denny Miller to create an energy-efficient material that could replace wood.

His journey to inventing a thermally efficient building system began in environments rife with open outcries, frantic hand signals, and competition. Denny Miller (BS Management '79) played for ASU's baseball team, and then professionally for MLB's San Francisco Giants' minor league before trading in the pits at the Chicago Board of Trade for more than 14 years. The focus and fast reactions he gained in these settings led him to notice something on the trading-room floor: Lumber prices tripled in six months while increasing in volatility and losing quality.

It also helped that Miller had worked in Arizona home construction where he saw the necessity for sustainable building material. "I was taught that if you see a need, be the first to fill it," Miller says. "Then there's a good chance you'll be successful and profitable."

The sum of these experiences led Miller to consider a material that could potentially replace wood. It had to be "easily manufactured, installed, engineered, and retain creative freedom for architectural professionals," Miller explains. After multiple rounds of revisions, Miller developed an insulated concrete block, naming it Omni Block.

Although Miller had a plan, a product, and the determination to get his company off the ground, he didn't invest himself full time at first. While still employed as a trader, he commuted for 18 months between Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona, while laying the foundation for Omni Block.

"I didn't want to move my family until I was sure the new business would succeed," Miller says. "Most builders were interested, but all were concerned and showed resistance to change within the industry." But those that built with Omni Block didn't regret it.

As each building using Omni Block was erected, more builders saw its potential and utility. "We have a company motto that 'buildings beget buildings,' meaning the more buildings that go up using Omni Block, the easier it is to show and convince others to use it," Miller says.

Today, Omni Block can be found across the U.S. in 29 states, Mexico, and Canada. Recently, the Dominican Republic and Al-Tahaluf Real Estate in Saudi Arabia partnered with Omni Block. Construction began in August 2017 on a single-family "show villa" residence in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, using Omni Block at Al-Tahaluf's new Al Maali community. Al-Tahaluf and Omni Block also have invested in a factory to manufacture the new building system in the kingdom. This will allow Al-Tahaluf to grow its resources and assist with the creation of housing for thousands of Saudi citizens as part of the kingdom's diversification plan, Vision 2030.