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OUR STORY

Born from a belief that the worst problems — a housing crisis, a wildfire epidemic — can share a single, elegent solution.

Turning wildfire fuel into resilient homes

Safe Arbor is a climate-tech building company that turns one of the planet's most destructive waste streams—overgrown, fire-prone forests—into high-performance housing at scale. Our patented INSTATEC system transforms small-diameter timber and forest residuals into three-dimensional structural panels that frame buildings up to 80% faster, cut construction costs by nearly 25%, and lock in biogenic carbon for decades in the places people live and work. Fire-resistant, energy-efficient, and radically simple to assemble, every INSTATEC panel is a circular-economy engine—turning wildfire fuel into climate-resilient buildings, and forest restoration into economic opportunity for rural communities.

For impact investors who demand measurable outcomes—not incremental green upgrades, but real transformation across climate, community, and economic resilience—INSTATEC is the catalyst. This isn't a better version of how we build. It's proof that environmental restoration and economic development aren't competing priorities, but one virtuous cycle: one material, one system, fundamentally redesigning how we source, build, and invest at scale.

Michael Neumayr

FOUNDER | CEO | INVENTOR

Michael is an Danish- Austrian award-winning product designer and interior architect, Art Center College of Design alumnus and longtime professor, whose work is defined by precision, craftsmanship, and sustainable innovation. As CEO, Founder, and Chief Product Officer of Safe Arbor — and inventor of the patented INSTATEC building system — he works alongside tradespeople and master craftsmen to balance environmental stewardship with the urgent realities of the housing crisis. Raised in the forests of Bavaria and shaped by years in Munich before settling in Los Angeles, Michael channels a lifelong connection to woodland ecosystems into SAFE ARBOR's core mission: converting forest waste and wildfire fuel into a premium building asset that keeps forests healthy and housing attainable. He is husband to a globally recognized light designer, proud uncle to artists, actors, and community leaders, and devoted companion to two very social fur babies.

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Michael Neumayr

CEO & FOUNDER

Michael is an internationally recognized, award-winning industrial designer with decades of experience spanning automotive, furniture, and home industries.
 

His vision — that the elegance of great industrial design could be brought to bear on the most pressing problems in construction and land management — is the founding principle of Safe Arbor.

OUR MISSION

To close America's housing gap and restore its forests - with a single act.

We convert small diameter timber into the most structurally advanced, carbon-negative building system ever engineered. Not by offsetting harm — but by removing it at the source and turning it into something the world needs.

Leadership Team

Safe Arbor is led by a multidisciplinary team of architects, environmental designers, supply chain specialists, business development leaders, marketers, and regenerative economy experts — collectively bringing the depth and breadth of expertise required to successfully launch a truly game-changing building system to market.

Meet the team
Michael Neumayr
CEO | Founder | Inventor
Jefferson Coombs
Chief Marketing Officer
Ernst Keider
Head of Production
Nashley Ruiz De Nuñez
Lead Consultant Supply Chain Operations
Mark Gee
Head of Architecture
Chelsea Cheung
Head of Environmental Design
Matt Ravenelle
Head of Industrial Design
Cassie Decker
Partner Growth Manager

Ready to build the future of American construction?

Whether you're an investor, developer, or policy partner — there's a role for you in scaling Instatec across California and beyond.

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