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Market Opportunity
Our location is strategically positioned close to the key end-user plastics and automotive manufacturing industries. In addition, Pennsylvania is a top state for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) construction.
U.S. automotive manufacturers are looking at hemp as a light-weight component in electric vehicles. Plastics manufacturers are exploring hemp fiber and cellulose nanocrystals to “green” their products. Both industries see the tensile strength of hemp fibers as an exciting replacement for current materials that performs better.
LEED is a green building certification program. Pennsylvania is one of the top states for LEED-certified contractors. In addition, Pennsylvania's northeast region has the oldest housing stock. Hemp construction materials are in a prime position to capture major market share as their use in retrofits increases in tandem with the dramatically growing interest in sustainable and healthy building materials.
Until 2019, the attention was on CBD due to extremely high market prices. This drove a significant overestimation of the potential to stand out in the crowded health and wellness markets.
Conversely, hemp fiber prices are not over-inflated. There is very high interest to use hemp fiber in multi-billion-dollar markets because it offers improved performance over current materials and decreases the carbon footprint significantly.
First Movers Will Define the U.S. Market
HempWood™ Lumber is an American innovation, with no added formaldehyde.
HempWood™ is a suitable replacement for traditional solid hardwoods such as white oak in most interior non-structural products and processes.
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Adhesives are bio-based and pass VOC emission standards in all 50 states
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High-profile HempWood projects include the new J.P Morgan headquarters
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Hempcrete will lead a dramatic shift in direction for the building industry away from petroleum-based materials. It replaces siding, plastic sheathing, fiberglass insulation, and drywall. Hempcrete has a dynamic thermal performance, allowing moisture to escape the interior, which in turn lowers heating and cooling costs.
Co-Founders Tommy Gibbons and Mattie Mead named in Forbes 2020 “30 Under 30”
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HempWool®: R value 3.7 per inch, non-abrasive, non-toxic, cuts easily, can be installed with bare hands, no protective gear needed
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Hempcrete: Made with hemp hurd, lime, and water cast in place or pre-cast blocks non-structural, bio-composite, fire-proof, pest-proof, mold-proof
Americhanvre LLC is located in Allentown, PA and specializes in spray-applied hempcrete for new builds and retrofits.
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Principal owner Cameron McIntosh is a PA-licensed contractor with world-wide hempcrete installation experience. His Tiny Hemp Home has traveled thousands of miles (with no cracking!) to be featured at high-profile events to promote awareness of hempcrete’s potential.
Products & Services
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DON will operate a large-capacity hub to process fiber for a wide range of specifications
DON has access to 5,000 acres and a high potential to increase acres quickly in PA / OH
The Problem–The U.S. Fiber Market is in the First-Mover Stage; the lack of large-scale processing solutions is the bottleneck
Current U.S. decortication options include both stationary and mobile equipment, but they have low capacity and require additional processing solutions in order meet end-users’ specifications.
The Solution is DON’s Decortication Equipment Choice:
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Cretes has developed, designed, and built complete processing lines for hemp fiber for decades; these lines successfully operate on four continents. This includes the largest processor in France, LA CHANVRIÈRE, Europe’s major player for the past forty years.
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The capacity is up to 10-tons per hour which requires 10,000 acres of production.
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Cretes processes for the widest range of specifications and applications, including textiles, unlike smaller, cheaper decortication equipment lines.
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Flexible input options can be either round or square bales, bulk or bundles so farmers can use existing equipment.
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Output:
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​Fibers with less than 3% of shives (pressed in bales)
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Cleaned hurd (pressed in bags or in bulk)
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Short fibers (pressed in bales)
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Dust (pressed in pellets or briquettes or unprocessed in bulk)
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DON also offers an exclusive opportunity:
Our team traveled to Paducah, KY in October 2019 to meet with Fibonacci founder Greg Wilson and to assess the potential opportunity of this new sustainable product. HempWood™ production does not require decortication. We are considering investing in a production facility to complement our decortication business. After numerous interactions, and the disruption of the pandemic, a reciprocal visit by Greg and his operations officer, Tommy Copeland, happened in late summer. Greg and Tommy came to assess our Test Acres Program and to continue our discussions. HempWood™ has extended DON the offer of one of its first two exclusive HempWood™ Licenses.​
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Our Location
Western PA is an Excellent Balance of the Key Components for a Successful Business
A Center for Agriculture and Manufacturing with a Low Cost of Doing Business
Our Location Offers:
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Access to raw material–high-quality soil, adequate rainfall, and strategically central to major agricultural regions of PA, OH, NY and WV
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A location central to the country’s plastics manufacturing base, and within easy distance to automotive manufacturers, both key end-use markets
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Well-developed infrastructure with easy access, including a 34-mile local rail system which connects to national rail system
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A traditional center of manufacturing with experienced labor force and good access to talent
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Salary levels that are lower than the national average due to low cost of living
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Agribusiness companies of high importance in PA—tax credits and grants for new businesses/brownfield renovations are all available
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A location surrounded by research universities, for example, University of Akron with a top U.S. polymer research department and Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute with grants available for research
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Letters of Support:
Contact Us
Address
DON Processing LLC
831 Harrison Street
New Castle, PA 16101
Contacts
Opening Hours
Monday - Friday
8:30 am – 4:30 pm
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