Source: HempLifestyleMagazine.com
You mentioned that you've been a long-term advocate of hemp, how
did you get involved in the first place?
I was in the lumber business in fact I sold Redwood and lumber. I
felt like I owed dues to the forest and when I went out to study
possible sources of fibre we could use to replace the amount that
were taken out of the forest, the only plant that rivalled the
amount of wood we use is hemp.
Hemp is renewable and you can grow it in 120 days, compared to a
forest which grows anywhere from 40 years to 300 years. Lets
compare a tree that takes to 300 years to mature which we use to
produce a house that lasts maybe 50 - 75 years versus using a plant
that matures in 120 days to produce a house that will last the same
amount of time. That is sustainability, the other isn't.
In the early 90s I approached the materials and engineering lab at
Washington State University who agreed to undertake a project with
us to produce the first hemp MDF panels. We proved that hemp is
usable in factories using basic manufacturing techniques with very
minor alterations to how MDF was made from wood at that time.
The issue was one of scale, because the amount of material that we
use out of the forest is tremendous. The average composites mill
uses 400 to 1400 dry tonnes of fibre every day. Getting a crop of
hemp of the same size would take some doing.
So I then looked at developing some products that don't need to
have that giant amount of yield. The first one that I developed
after the boards was a hemp fiberglass type product where we could
replace e-glass (alumino-borosilicate glass) with hemp fibreglass
and make a plastic. They are now actually going to start making
cars like that in Canada called the Fisker.
The issue is that in order to save the forests we need to build up
to a scale where we can actually rival the amount of material that
is taken out of the forest. So we need an intermediary product,
which was where Hemp Shield came along. I thought that was an ideal
match because the Canadians actually produce enough hemp seed oil
for us to make a fairly good penetration into the coatings and
sealing market and justify the continued growth of the industry
The Canadians have been focusing on the seeds and the oil because
they have been supplying the foods and cosmetics market. I'm a
newcomer with Hemp Shield because we also use the hemp seed oil and
we fit in really well with their programme because we don't need
the higher grades that they use for food. In fact we can use them
after they are no longer "usable" or food grade. We are treating
wood so it's a different story.
Can you tell us a bit about your product Hemp Shield?
Hemp Shield is the first modern hemp oil containing wood
preservative and deck sealer. It is a totally revolutionary product
in every aspect from it being a water-based penetrating oil to
being a single coat product to having no formaldehyde-base,
fungicides, algaecides or mildewcides in it.
The clear version of Hemp Shield contains no fossil fuel compounds,
no hazardous air pollutants and no fumes. The shaded versions have
a tiny bit of volatile organic compounds in the pigment itself
which makes up a very small fraction of the product.
We have a full line of shades, including clear, Cedar, Redwood,
Hickory and Chestnut and we are about add a grey. Hemp Shield has
very wide coverage and it is very competitively priced. It is the
greenest, best, deck sealer ever made or at least on the market
today.
Our testing shows that Hemp Shield is hundreds of percent better
than every other product that's out there, and we believe the
reason why is because the hemp seed oil molecules are smaller than
those used in most traditional oils and they are able to penetrate
the mood much better.
Hemp Shield was developed as an exterior product, concentrating
specifically on decking and fencing but the truth of it is that
Hemp Shield works well on any sort of wood project including
furniture and marine applications.
We have been having real success with our retail sales. We are in
the process of setting up a national distribution network and are
in negotiation with several national chains and smaller outlets. We
are about to establish a branch of Hemp Shield in Canada because
there is actually a strong demand for at there.
Every component of the Hemp Shield proprietary formula is
state-of-the-art, with the highest concentrations that can be
included and the highest quality. For example our transoxide
pigments are actually processed into microscopic little needles and
when the light shines on them, they make the UV rays go sideways so
you can still see the wood.
We wanted to prove that you can be green, high quality and superior
and you can still be competitive in the market. We wanted to be an
antidote to the greenwashing that goes on in the building materials
industry.
What sort of projects have you used Hemp Shield for?
Last year we were involved in a project with a group that had
acquired an old ski resort called Tellmark in northern Wisconsin.
The Lodge at Tellmark happens to be one of the biggest cedar-trim
buildings in the world. It was quite old and dingy and the group
put a lot of work into cleaning it up and getting it ready. Then
they wanted to figure out what they could put on it to keep it in
good shape and after doing some research they came upon our Hemp
Shield.
There are 300 odd rooms attached to the lodge, each with the deck,
walls, and hallways all made of cedar panelling and Hemp Shield was
used inside and out. They absolutely loved it because there were no
fumes therefore it posed no problem for interior use. They didn't
have to worry about any health issues or a disruption of their
business.
What has the response been from other people in the building
industry?
Those who've tried it love it. There is some resistance just
because many people are not used to having products perform in the
way that Hemp Shield does.
We do not hide the fact that the product is made of hemp or has
hemp seed oil as a major component next to the water that it's
based on, because that really is the reason why it is as good as it
is. We are trying to demonstrate the viability of hemp as a true
economic and environmental engine for our country and the world. We
are also making the argument that we ought to be growing this crop
domestically in the United States and demonstrating that it can be
done at different scales so hemp can support all levels of
agriculture and industry profitably.
What do you think the impact would be on your business if it was
legal to grow hemp in the US?
I think that it could cause a major stimulus for the entire
economy. From the level of families farming all the way to
re-localising the manufacturing industry.
Most building materials are based on a business model of
high-volume, low-profit margin. Companies can't afford to pay a lot
to transport raw materials around, so we need to grow the hemp and
literally put the factories in the fields, in the same way they
used to have all the wood product factories located close to
forests to produce building materials.
I work with a company in Wisconsin called Original Green
Distribution who distribute Hemp Shield and we are also producing
hemp cement which we think could lower the overall costs of
construction by about 30%. All these things would tend to give us a
major stimulus in an area that we desperately need such as
homebuilding, localised manufacturing and farming.
Hemp may not be the cure all for everything but it definitely is a
big major factor that could contribute to all these things.
Unfortunately the United States has fallen behind the rest of the
world because of restrictions on not allowing the growing of
industrial hemp or any sort of development of the agricultural side
of it.
Canadians are the exact opposite. They have legalised industrial
hemp, they grow industrial hemp, they are actively developing
research facilities to develop applications for the fibre after 20
years because they penetrated the food end of the markets to a
fairly successful degree and they are looking for the next step to
up the scale of it. This is why it would be so important for us to
grow hemp here in the United States, it could be an ideal crop for
us in every way.
You have been involved in creating the first university level
course on industrial hemp in the US. Can you tell us about that?
We are working with Oregon State University to create the first
course that covers every single aspect of hemp from the history of
it to all the different uses of the crop. The course is being
taught by Andrea Hermann who is the current president of the Hemp
Industry Association, former president of the Canadian Hemp Trade
Association and also one of the main Principals of Hemp Shield
Canada. I contributed the material for the coatings and sealers
part of the course.
It's a 90 hour course and is going to be available in March via the
Oregon State University e-campus which means that any student from
any accredited university or college can take this course online
for a credit towards their degree.
It's one of the biggest things to happen since the writing of Jack
Herer's book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes".
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