Hemp Today reports
Dun Agro Hemp Group, Inc., the American corporation of the leading Dutch hemp company, said it will set up North American headquarters and build its first U.S.-based processing facilities in Indiana.
Dun Agro, a global leader in product development for fiber applications and a pioneer with a 28-year history in the reborn European hemp industry, said the Indiana operations will be modeled after its vertically integrated complex at Oude Pekela, Holland, where the company has an environmentally friendly factory that turns out hurd, fiber and other hemp materials for a wide range of applications.
Supporting farmers
Dun Agro said it will support American farmers as they add hemp to their rotations, and boost job creation in local communities through large-scale processing and manufacturing of consumer products.
“The partnerships we have created in Indiana are just the beginning and have greatly assisted Dun Agro in building a strong foundation in the state,” said CEO Albert Dun. “The expansion will significantly impact the company’s ability to meet the rapidly growing demand for consumer hemp products in the USA,” where the company already has a customer base, Dun said.
The U.S. facility is expected to be operational in mid-2023 but Dun Agro said it is growing and will harvest crops in Indiana and Idaho this year. It is now in the process of identifying a second location for development and says it is exploring opportunities with Tribal governments as it pursues expansion. “The possibilities on Tribal lands are a priority and we will continue to identify potential Tribes to cooperate with, said La Vonne Peck of Dun Agro Hemp Group, Inc.
Hands-on
Dun Agro is hands-on throughout the entire production process, exercising tight control from farming to primary processing. The company grows European hemp varieties and brings know-how, experience and technology together in a proven end-to-end farming and production chain that meets the highest standards.
“Dun Agro’s arrival in North America is an important signal for the hemp fiber and construction industries here,” said Pamela Bosch of Highland Hemp House, a sustainability-focused learning center in Bellingham, Washington where she completed a hemp building project with hurd supplied by the company’s Holland-based factory.
“They’ll bring extensive experience in hemp farming, and the latest, proven technology for high-quality large-scale processing and building where the demand will only grow,” Bosch said.
Highly diversified
Dun Agro builds custom hempcrete construction panels, and processes hemp technical fibers for non-woven applications such as interior automotive parts, building insulation, horticulture and textiles, hemp fertilizer and hemp pellets for animal stables. The company also has a CBD brand, and supplies grain for the food sector and plant tops for hemp tea.
The company was one of the first to develop multi-cropping field technology for harvesting flowers, seeds and fiber, and pioneered the design and development of a pre-fabricated modular hempcrete home kit and pre-built walls for traditional construction projects.
‘Grow the market’
The company’s Oude Pekela factory offers advanced sustainability, with 60% of its power derived from solar panels, and additional energy provided by pellets made from leftover hemp dust.
“We want to grow the market collaboratively and anticipate opportunities of cooperating with other hemp companies,” said Niki Vandenburgh, Co-CEO and Chief Operating Officer of Dun Agro Hemp Group, Inc. “The industry has tremendous growth potential and expansion will incorporate hemp into thousands of applications in upcoming years.”
