Hemp fiber producer buys pulp mill

The company plans to expand the capacity of the pulp and paper mill “ Lumberton Cellulose ” from the production of hygiene products based on wood pulp, such as napkins and toilet paper, to the production of similar products from hemp and flax.

On the pages of the specialized electronic edition of national cannabis growers, the attention of our esteemed readers and listeners has more than once been focused on the fact that the American market, due to its saturation with hemp raw materials with therapeutic properties, is actively developing niches associated with the use, including the fibrous part of the plant . In particular, individual companies were described that form closed chains for the production of textile or knitwear. The data presented below concerns another extremely promising niche of modern hemp growing, which is actively developing at the moment in the EU countries and emerging in North America - the production of pulp and paper products from hemp raw materials. The information presented in this material is interesting not only from the point of view of understanding the trends in the modern market, but also understanding the algorithms for cooperation between hemp and pulp and paper industries aimed at implementing joint projects.

Canadian company Bast fiber technologies Inc. " (BTF), which specializes in the manufacture of natural textiles from hemp fiber, announced the acquisition of the American company Lumberton Cellulose located in Lumberton , North Carolina.

BTF management plans to make the Lumberton Cellulose ” one of its flagship manufacturing sites to operate in the US market while opening up new opportunities for North American cannabis growers. The acquired business will play a key role in supporting the North American industry's transition from wood-based plastics and cellulose fibers to more sustainable and responsible materials, BFT said.

“Acquiring this state of the art facility and bringing together a great team at Lumberton Cellulose “with our capabilities enables BFT to develop pulp and paper products in North America in order to meet growing demand,” says CEO Noel Hall. “Following the recent acquisition of a German fiber processing company, this is another key step towards implementing a long-term strategy to create significant high-quality manufacturing facilities for our customers around the world as part of the company's core mission of growing raw materials, processing them and selling end products.”

Separately, representatives of BFT focus on the fact that the company will retain a highly qualified staff working at Lumberton Cellulose ”, however, will conduct additional training aimed at studying the peculiarities of working not with wood materials, but with natural fibers of hemp and flax. In particular, according to BFT employee Larissa Harrison , “This transaction will provide a stable demand for hemp raw materials to a significant number of farms in several states of North America at once, as well as consumers of pulp and paper products throughout the country.”

In the published " Bast fiber technologies Inc. _ ” information states that the company plans to expand the capacity of the pulp and paper mill “ Lumberton Cellulose ” from the production of hygiene products based on wood pulp, such as napkins and toilet paper, to the production of similar products from hemp and flax.

Commentary of the specialists of the Association “Ukrainian Industrial Hemp”

Acquisition of Lumberton Cellulose , operated by pulp and paper giant Georgia-Pacific (GP), is an important step for BTF. Canadians have been working with GP for several years. In particular, two years ago, BFT licensed a number of patents relating to technologies for the use of bast fibers in various nonwoven products and processes “ Georgia-Pacific consumer Products ”, having received the exclusive right to use them.

Interesting is the concept implemented by BFT to create high-quality production facilities around the world, involving the cultivation of raw materials, their processing and sale. At least for national hemp growers, this concept would be interesting because it indicates that the pulp and paper enterprises of our country “sharpened ” for the processing of wood pulp in order to manufacture pulp and paper products can be re-profiled for the production of similar products using hemp raw materials.