"It kills the mold forever, and sends the termites packing," Conboy said. By early 2009, BluWood had treated 7 million board feet of lumber.
Cutting costs: Last year, SC BluWood went beyond just treating the wood to making its own boards. It converted a 100,000-square-foot abandoned pipe factory in Colton into a cutting, coating and shipping facility for BluWood lumber. "Now we're offering BluWood at the cost of raw lumber," he said. In April, the company went public.
Trading coasts: He lives in Carlsbad with his wife, Cheryl, and two children, Shaun, 19, and Caitlin, 12. His daughter Chelsea, 25, works in Seattle as an animator and graphic designer. He named her after the neighborhood in New York, and, even though he still prefers New York food, he can't imagine leaving California.
"New York is a good place to be from, but once we got to California there was no turning back," Conboy said. "We're beach people now."
Family business? His son drives a truck for his company, but Conboy wants him to earn a degree and find a solid career. "Even though I didn't go to college, I tell my son you don't want to do it my way," Conboy said. "My dad wanted me to go to college, but I got a good job. And I thought that making more money than Dad was cool. These days, those jobs don't exist."
