By his latest count, only 2% of the U.S. knows about Greg Wilson’s Murray, Kentucky-based startup, HempWood, which produces organic, engineered — and plant-based — hardwood flooring.
“HempWood is still in that very early adopter [stage], kind of spread out across the country,” Wilson told me recently. “Very few people know about us.”
That, though, could soon change with the addition of two other HempWood production facilities: one in Oregon and possibly another in upstate New York.
The company creates the only carbon-negative — and the only no-waste — flooring in the country. It does so by using the stems of hemp plants and soy-based glue and putting them together using specially designed machines that exert lots and lots of pressure, making a material that is 20% harder than hickory.
Although HempWood sells the product mostly for flooring for a more sustainable and chemical-free alternative to other popular flooring choices, it also creates furniture and cabinetry for retail purposes.
“The reason or the why for HempWood is because we actually give a s--- about the environment … like the outdoors, not like eco-warriors, but having the proper forestry outside to be able maintain life here," Wilson said.
As Wilson explains, whenever old-growth trees are cut down, the ecosystem of that forest’s canopy is depleted and ultimately altered to the detriment of the plants and animals that rely upon it.
This is especially true when cutting down hardwoods like oak trees — used primarily for flooring, furniture, cabinetry and, as bourbon lovers know, barrels. Oak trees take around 60 years to grow, so trees that grow quicker such as poplars and pines often replace them.
Hemp, on the other hand, can reach maturity in three to four months. Furthermore, HempWood is directly involved with growing approximately 180 acres in the state of Kentucky alone in 2023, Wilson said. It also supplements its supply with hemp stems purchased from local farmers.
Doing the math
Wilson founded HempWood by way of the creation of Fibonacci LLC, on March 14, known affectionately by math enthusiasts around the world as “Pi Day,” in 2018. The company was named after Italian mathematician Fibonacci, who wrote the sequence Wilson used to develop the algorithm that turns a plant fiber into a wood composite.
In August 2019, Wilson opened a 16,500-square-foot production facility in Murray. He now has two facilities, which both run carbon negative thanks to the use of the BioBurner systems that were created by the founders who now run the Madisonville, Kentucky-based startup OrganiLock. The 20,000-plus-square-foot second facility is where the products are made out of the material.
A total of 23 full-time employees work for the company, with another 20-25 employees on the supply side who are growing hemp and soy for the operation.
Wilson, a Maryland native, first moved to the Murray area in 2018, for a number of reasons, including a seven-year-long research partnership with Murray State University, which has a Center for Agricultural Hemp.
Before shifting his focus to HempWood, Wilson was part of a team that invented what is now known as bamboo flooring. As such, he spent 14 years in China, helping construct 53 mills.
HempWood is available at 103 retail locations throughout the country. In Kentucky, customers can find the products at six stores in Louisville, Lexington, Murray and Nicholasville. Customers can also order directly through HempWood’s site. Prices range from $5.99 to $11.99 a square foot.
Wilson said Hempwood is on track to generate between $2 million and $2.5 million in revenue in 2023, after making approximately $1.4 million in 2022, with an output of about 200,000 square feet of flooring.
On the international front, HempWood recently established a European office in Belgium, where international licensing will be handled. Companies in three countries are in the process of setting up a factory to manufacture HempWood flooring in Europe.
HempWood is looking to raise $3 million in a Series A round — of which it has already secured $1.8 million. The company’s funding includes a $500,000 investment from Keyhorse Capital.
Wilson said the Series A money will be split equally three ways between automation machinery, marketing and product development.
