With America’s first ‘HempWood’ factory being built in Mid 2019, many are beginning to wonder how durable this material is. Times are changing and because it is legal now to grow Hemp across the US, Hemp might be taking us by storm, literally.
For those who do not know Hemp Wood is at least twenty percent harder than things like Oak and can grow at a rate one hundred times faster. This makes it more reasonable and efficient in general. The man building the HempWood factory noted above, Greg Wilson holds a patent for the product itself and makes it using compressed Hemp pulp fibers. This looks and feels like ‘real’ wood and while it might sound a bit ‘cheap’ or lackluster is anything but.
The ‘Hemp Wood Story’ listed on the website for the product goes as follows:
“The algorithm of a tree is the foundation of life. Reverse engineering the natural growth cycle and utilizing bio-mimicry, plant fiber and protein-based bonding agents can make a beautiful eco-friendly wood substitute.”
“The idea of using hemp-derived from experiences while working for a bamboo flooring company. Grey and his technology team have spent over 10 years adapting the bamboo process to different plant species including, Eucalyptus, HEMP, and Tasmanian Oak. HempWood IP is 100% owned by Greg.”
“Our mission is to benefit humankind by removing the devastating effects of deforestation and help the farmers of the world by disrupting the $60 + billion wood industry.”
“Simplified: It’s pretty cool to turn hemp into wood.”
This new factory is going to be a small scale one but operates on a level we have not seen here before in regards. Owner Greg Wilson (as mentioned above) is set to build this factory in Kentucky and has about six million dollars to work with. This will create at least twenty-five full-time jobs and has already contracted Hemp stalks through growers in the area. Dr. Tony Brannon from MSU told KyForward that this in itself was and is an enormous opportunity for the area and those within it.
Hemp Wood is environmentally friendly, 100 percent renewable, price competitive, more stable and harder than Oak, and supports local farmers. What more could we ask for? This is a huge chance for those of us here in the US to really grab onto something that could and hopefully will change the way the world itself operates moving forward.
Considering how quickly trees of all kinds are being cut down and hauled off to make tons of different things, this could be revolutionary if enough people got behind it. To learn more about Hemp in general and how it can be used to make tons of different things check out the video below. While it’s going to take a while to get things where they need to be, eventually this could be a replacement for many things – not just types of wood.