A past 43North winner is expanding again after securing $14 million in debt financing.
Five years after the company moved to Buffalo, CleanFiber now employs more than 70 people in its Lackawanna factory.
The funding will support the addition of new equipment that allows the company to fulfill the demand for its product.
“We’ve had a significant uptick in hiring that’s been driven by growth and demand,” CEO Jonathan Strimling said. “We have a long backlog of demand for our products, and we keep adding shifts and ramping up production.”
The debt financing comes from California-based Lapis Advisors.
Most cellulose building insulation is made from recycled newsprint, but that stock is dwindling. Strimling won 43North on the idea that recycled corrugated cardboard could be a viable alternative. He said CleanFiber has been successful in proving that it can manufacture a higher quality product at lower costs.
Supported by a lengthy catalog of local investors, Strimling initially said CleanFiber would employ up to 30 people at the plant.
But business growth has repeatedly revised those plans upward. CleanFiber is expected in the coming years to establish similar factories in other regions.
“We already have demand for everything we’ll be able to make in Buffalo,” Strimling said. “We are actively looking at additional sites where we can put up additional plants.”
