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News Release from: East Of England Development Agency
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 10 August 2007
UK industrial hemp plant announced
To meet increasing demand for hemp in, for example, manufacture of automotive door panels, Hemcore is to build a GBP 3.6 million industrial hemp processing facility near Halesworth in Suffolk, UK.
Hemcore
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 6 Jan 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The hemp plant has two constituent parts: the fibre and the woody core or 'shiv'.
Demand for both of these products is growing rapidly.
Hemp fibre is increasingly used in the automotive sector, primarily in the manufacture of door panels and other parts.
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Demand for hemp products is also growing in construction, where the shiv is used as an energy efficient building material.
The fibre is used as a natural insulation material.
Emerging markets for hemp products include plastics reinforcement, nutrition, clothing and horticulture.
The new facility is being installed in an existing building at the Halesworth Business Centre.
The site was selected to ensure it was close to the majority of existing hemp growers, many of whom are in the East of England.
This is also an area where the growing base is expected to expand rapidly as the demand for hemp products continues to increase.
Installation will begin in January 2008 with commissioning due to start in May.
It is expected to be fully operational in the summer of 2008, with production increasing over a four year period until full capacity is reached.
Total funding required for the project was GBP 4.1 million and Hemcore has raised over GBP 2.5 million of new equity.
Low Carbon Accelerator, an AIM-listed environmental fund, is the largest single investor, having invested GBP 1.08 million.
Harlow Agricultural Merchants, the founder of Hemcore, has also invested, together with members of The Great Eastern Investment Forum (GEIF), a Cambridge-based business angel network and a range of smaller investors and growers.
The project is supported under the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, in the form of a grant of GBP 514,000 towards the cost of specialist processing equipment.
The grant funding will be managed by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) while debt finance is being provided by Barclays Asset Finance.
David Sillett, Rural Development manager at EEDA, said: "EEDA is pleased to manage the delivery of the ERDP funding for this project, which contributes to the adoption of more sustainable construction methods, while creating additional employment and benefiting farmers, who can profitably grow an alternative crop." Currently 4,500 tonnes of hemp are processed at Hemcore's existing facility in Maldon.
This will be closed down when the new factory becomes operational.
Hemp products are environmentally friendly because 99% of the plant is actually used.
Commenting on the new facility, Mike Duckett, managing director of Hemcore, said: "Our new facility is great news for the environment and the region's farmers, more and more of whom are already reaping the benefits of growing hemp.
It's also beneficial for the many industries which are increasingly turning to hemp as a sustainable and highly effective natural material".
Duckett added: "Finally it's good news for the UK.
Industrial hemp is a completely natural, sustainable and low carbon material.
When you think that 50% of the country's carbon emissions come from the construction and use of buildings, you can appreciate the huge contribution hemp-based products can make in helping us reduce our overall carbon emissions.
We're delighted to be bringing this first major hemp processing facility to the UK.".
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