Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Regional Hemp Steering Committee executives undertook a trade mission from June 5 to 12 to the Netherlands to make contacts and raise awareness of the potential for Alberta-grown hemp.
Drayton Valley-Devon MLA Mark Smith, who also took part in the trade mission, said the Regional Hemp Steering Committe was formed in January of this year to help drive the industrial hemp value chain within the region. Delegates who also attended included Mayor Stephen Lindop of Devon, Dan Madlung, CEO of Bio Composites Group Inc. from Drayton Valley and his wife Brenda, Brazeau County Reeve Bart Guyon, Warburg Mayor and 39/20 Alliance member, Barb McKenzie, Leduc-Nisku EDA and Alberta Agriculture Specialist, Lori-Jo Graham, who holds an advisory role on the committee, three investors from the Bio Composites Group and two representatives from two other companies.
"All of us paid our own way," noted Smith.
"We spent the first three days at the European Industrial Hemp Association conference in the Netherlands, one day in Eindhoven, (Netherlands) and spent several days in Begen-Op-Zoon. While we were attending the Industrial Hemp conference, we were also meeting with all the major hemp players in Europe, including Germany, France, the Netherlands and all areas of Europe.
We were gathering information and meeting with companies that would help us grow and expand the supply chain of industrial hemp in Alberta. We're looking at everything from the farmer to the harvester and processor all the way to the manufacturer of the commercial products. We're working through issues to ensure farmers have the capacity to harvest the crop and at ways to make it easier for farmers to start a custom harvesting company of some sort. We have to build a decordication plant that helps shred the hemp fibre and separate the long fibre from the stalk. Both types of fibre have their separate uses," said Smith.
Smith added the delegation also met with various companies who have built decordication plants, and were told they can expect to spend somewhere between $15 to $20 million on a plant that will provide all the fibre that the Bio Composites Group needs to produce fibre matting and also either erosion control or auto parts for inside door panels for motor vehicles.
"The door panels are currently being made for Mini Cooper cars and buses, so we're meeting with the head of their North American operations and he talked to us about their fibre technology division. While we were there, he showed us what they're doing in the area of biotechnology, and we showed him what we were doing with biocomposites in Drayton Valley.
They also make a wide range of materials, including glass, fibreglass and carbon molecules and cases for submarine batteries, which have to be very strong. They also produce sliding tables for Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines, and one of their other products is a foam board that is sandwiched between two fabrics made of flax and stitched together with carbon fibre to make sea can containers out of it at a fraction of the weight that would normally be somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds.
They're also producing 35 feet transportation trucks without steel supports on them. They were interested in biocomposites and want to replace the flax matting with hemp matting that we make. They're going to be bringing their technical staff from their fibre technology division to meet with the Bio Composites Group in either September or October. They're interested in forming some sort of business arrangement to look at other ways to use products,"
Upon the delegation's arrival at Bergen-Op-Zoon, they met with the regional bio economic group there. Smith said at that level, they're working with sugar beet producers to manufacture bio-plastics.
"There's all sorts of synergy here that can tie the Netherlands and Alberta together. They're open to working with Canadians because of Canada's support during World War II and they respect the sacrifices Canadians made. They're looking for opportunities in Canada and especially Alberta. It just makes sense to have invested a lot of money into biotechnology because they don't have a lot of land. They're looking for people with a high level of education and entrepreneurs, that plus the fact there are so many Dutch farmers in Alberta. In the 1950s the Dutch government opened up land for industrial development, so a lot of the farmers took money and went to Canada," said Smith.
"The trip has given us a lot of opportunities. We had a very productive time out there and a lot of those mayors and businessmen who travelled with the trade mission used their own money to do it. That shows the depth of their beliefs. If we work hard and co-operate regionally, we can grow another industry."
Smith noted that over 30,000 acres of hemp are currently being grown in an area north of Red Deer.
And once a decordication plant is built in Alberta, one company that went on the trade mission along with the Regional Hemp Steering Committee executive members said it was planning to build a concrete block using one and a half to two inch lengths of hemp that will be pressed into the cement, resulting in a stronger, lighter, more sound absorbing, water-proof and fire resistant product that will be used in the construction of buildings in earthquake prone areas of the world. This will impact businesses and will provide jobs and diversify the economy, concluded Smith.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Representatives attend hemp conference | Drayton Valley Western Review
Author: Cathy Weetman
Contact: Contact-us | Drayton Valley Western Review
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Drayton Valley Western Review
Drayton Valley-Devon MLA Mark Smith, who also took part in the trade mission, said the Regional Hemp Steering Committe was formed in January of this year to help drive the industrial hemp value chain within the region. Delegates who also attended included Mayor Stephen Lindop of Devon, Dan Madlung, CEO of Bio Composites Group Inc. from Drayton Valley and his wife Brenda, Brazeau County Reeve Bart Guyon, Warburg Mayor and 39/20 Alliance member, Barb McKenzie, Leduc-Nisku EDA and Alberta Agriculture Specialist, Lori-Jo Graham, who holds an advisory role on the committee, three investors from the Bio Composites Group and two representatives from two other companies.
"All of us paid our own way," noted Smith.
"We spent the first three days at the European Industrial Hemp Association conference in the Netherlands, one day in Eindhoven, (Netherlands) and spent several days in Begen-Op-Zoon. While we were attending the Industrial Hemp conference, we were also meeting with all the major hemp players in Europe, including Germany, France, the Netherlands and all areas of Europe.
We were gathering information and meeting with companies that would help us grow and expand the supply chain of industrial hemp in Alberta. We're looking at everything from the farmer to the harvester and processor all the way to the manufacturer of the commercial products. We're working through issues to ensure farmers have the capacity to harvest the crop and at ways to make it easier for farmers to start a custom harvesting company of some sort. We have to build a decordication plant that helps shred the hemp fibre and separate the long fibre from the stalk. Both types of fibre have their separate uses," said Smith.
Smith added the delegation also met with various companies who have built decordication plants, and were told they can expect to spend somewhere between $15 to $20 million on a plant that will provide all the fibre that the Bio Composites Group needs to produce fibre matting and also either erosion control or auto parts for inside door panels for motor vehicles.
"The door panels are currently being made for Mini Cooper cars and buses, so we're meeting with the head of their North American operations and he talked to us about their fibre technology division. While we were there, he showed us what they're doing in the area of biotechnology, and we showed him what we were doing with biocomposites in Drayton Valley.
They also make a wide range of materials, including glass, fibreglass and carbon molecules and cases for submarine batteries, which have to be very strong. They also produce sliding tables for Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines, and one of their other products is a foam board that is sandwiched between two fabrics made of flax and stitched together with carbon fibre to make sea can containers out of it at a fraction of the weight that would normally be somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds.
They're also producing 35 feet transportation trucks without steel supports on them. They were interested in biocomposites and want to replace the flax matting with hemp matting that we make. They're going to be bringing their technical staff from their fibre technology division to meet with the Bio Composites Group in either September or October. They're interested in forming some sort of business arrangement to look at other ways to use products,"
Upon the delegation's arrival at Bergen-Op-Zoon, they met with the regional bio economic group there. Smith said at that level, they're working with sugar beet producers to manufacture bio-plastics.
"There's all sorts of synergy here that can tie the Netherlands and Alberta together. They're open to working with Canadians because of Canada's support during World War II and they respect the sacrifices Canadians made. They're looking for opportunities in Canada and especially Alberta. It just makes sense to have invested a lot of money into biotechnology because they don't have a lot of land. They're looking for people with a high level of education and entrepreneurs, that plus the fact there are so many Dutch farmers in Alberta. In the 1950s the Dutch government opened up land for industrial development, so a lot of the farmers took money and went to Canada," said Smith.
"The trip has given us a lot of opportunities. We had a very productive time out there and a lot of those mayors and businessmen who travelled with the trade mission used their own money to do it. That shows the depth of their beliefs. If we work hard and co-operate regionally, we can grow another industry."
Smith noted that over 30,000 acres of hemp are currently being grown in an area north of Red Deer.
And once a decordication plant is built in Alberta, one company that went on the trade mission along with the Regional Hemp Steering Committee executive members said it was planning to build a concrete block using one and a half to two inch lengths of hemp that will be pressed into the cement, resulting in a stronger, lighter, more sound absorbing, water-proof and fire resistant product that will be used in the construction of buildings in earthquake prone areas of the world. This will impact businesses and will provide jobs and diversify the economy, concluded Smith.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Representatives attend hemp conference | Drayton Valley Western Review
Author: Cathy Weetman
Contact: Contact-us | Drayton Valley Western Review
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Drayton Valley Western Review
