For decades the United States and Canada have relied on lumber as the main building product. Year over year, lumber price has dramatically increased and doubled within the past six months and even trippled in some high pressure markets.

This high volatility is only expected to continue in the foreseable future. The forest is rapidly getting thinned out, drastically diminishing quality and supply, and trees only grow so fast. Past building codes also unintentionally favored lightweight material. But the wisdom of lessons learned has opened the door to updating codes for more advanced building systems that are more structurally sound, durable, and provide stronger resistance to the forces of nature.

Building upon the cement block model, Miller began designing and engineering a more solid solution. One that would not only edge against lumber inflation, but one that was going to revolutionize the construction industry. The result was a product that didn't present new manufacturing challenges and could be engineered with widely available materials.

The Omni Block was born. The solution is an insulated concrete block with Expanded Polystyrene insulation inserts. This revolutionary product is readily distributied, easily installed, locality souced, eliminates waste, and is extremely cost-effective on the construction side as well as operationally.

Omni Block has expanded across the United States and into México and Canada as well, and is making headway into Central and South America and the Caribbean.

The vision forward for Omni Block borrows from that of Indian Chief Seattle, who once said, “We did not inherit the earth from our forefathers, but rather we are borrowing it from our children.”

Upon that philosophy, Miller believes Omni Block is a solid contender for the next evolution of the basic building block.

Miller has a passion to create, continually improve, and basically “do the right thing”. He grew up in a small Iowa town, played college baseball at Arizona State University, then finished his playing days in the San Francisco Giant’s baseball organization. Soon thereafter, Miller found himself trading 30-year United States Treasury Bonds for himself on the trading floor of Chicago Board of Trade.

Miller has served as the Residential Committee chairperson of the Arizona Masonry Guild, a non-profit association. Green building is now commonplace and most codes include a green building element, but back in 1996, the concept of green building was very novel. Miller pioneered green building in Scottsdale and the surrounding Phoenix metro area. He also volunteered his time and originally authored the City of Scottsdale’s Green Building Program in 1996, which is still in use today.