Palmer Holland In the News

Written by: Sam Sullivan, Market Manager-Plastics

The first time I heard someone was interested in using industrial hemp in plastics, I didn’t believe it. A crop in plastics? What even is industrial hemp? I had to find out more, and I’ll tell you what: Those working on using hemp in plastics are on the front end of something groundbreaking.
 
Everything I’ve learned about hemp is from our fantastic, innovative partner, IND HEMP. A family-owned and operated industrial hemp company based in the great state of Montana. IND HEMP’s main goal? Sustainable agriculture that improves our climate and world. I had the opportunity to spend some time with the IND HEMP family last summer in Montana. I was able to visit one of the several family-owned farms they partner alongside – the first pillar of their robust supply chain. Their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is nestled in Fort Benton as the first true hemp processing campus in the US. IND HEMP is involved in the entire process, from seed selection to planting, harvesting, and ultimately manufacturing. For a technology still in its infancy, I was floored.
 
The end result is a carbon-negative additive that aids in lightweighting, stiffness, acoustic, and aesthetic properties. When you compare industrial hemp to bio-based fillers used in the market today, the carbon footprint benefits far outweigh that of competition.
 
For the plastics industry, we currently source IND HEMP’s Milled Hurd and Bast Fiber products for compounding and composites. The best part? IND HEMP is innovating in real-time with us to understand how we can successfully integrate these materials into our industries. We are on the edge of helping supply pelletized and masterbatch versions to aid in processing. Over the last year, we’ve seen customers successfully compound the material in different resin systems. The results have been amazing, but we must keep the momentum going.
 
IND HEMP embodies sustainability through the entire value chain. I am excited to see where we can help them go. Are you interested in making your product 10-20% biobased? Palmer Holland and IND HEMP can help.

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