A Maryland-based HempWood company is locating its manufacturing plant in Murray, creating 25 full-time jobs. Governor Matt Bevin's office announced on Tuesday Finbonacci LLC's $5.8 million dollar investment in Calloway County.
Fibonacci will lease an 11,230-square-foot facility with plans to establish an automated HempWood operation. Founder Greg Wilson told WKMS News last July that he had been looking for raw materials for his operations and chose Murray after establishing a relationship with Murray State University Hutson School of Agriculture Dean Tony Brannon.
According to the release from Bevin's office, 800 tons of hemp stalks have already been contracted through growers in west Kentucky. Production is expected to begin this summer.
The company uses a technology derived from the bamboo industry located in China and “SmartOak” technology from Australia. Wilson is a 50-percent owner of SmartOak, which uses logs that would otherwise be converted to wood chips to create an engineered wood product.
“We look forward to being a productive member of Kentucky’s agricultural and manufacturing communities, and the enormous opportunities of HempWood as a renewable alternative to Oak,” said Greg Wilson in the release.
Read more from our previous conversation with Wilson.
