A Maine manufacturer has inked a deal to expand the distribution of its wood-fiber insulation across North America.
TimberHP announced recently that it signed a deal with CertainTeed Inc., a subsidiary of the French multinational firm Saint-Gobain.
“It is a huge vote of confidence in our technology and our team at TimberHP to partner with a brand as innovative and impactful as CertainTeed,” said Joshua Henry, chief executive officer of TimberHP, which he founded with Matthew O’Malia. “It is essential that we mold the future of construction to be exceptionally easy, effective, energy-efficient and sustainable, and we look forward to addressing those industry needs together.”
TimberHP, a subsidiary of Belfast-based GO Labs, is the first U.S. company to manufacture wood-fiber insulation, a construction product long popular in Europe. It is seen as a cheaper alternative to other construction material and as a way to sequester carbon. It also makes use of logging material no longer being used as many Maine pulp and paper mills have closed over the past several years.
Henry and Malia purchased the former paper mill in Madison for $1.4 million in 2019, a boon for the community after the mill’s closure in 2016. TimberHP had a ribbon-cutting last July after its opening was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
TimberHP began producing blown-in insulation last summer and is rolling out board and batten-type insulation this year. The Finance Authority of Maine and Maine Rural Development Authority recently awarded TimberHP $1 million in loans to support an expansion.
TimberHP expects to employ 144 people, use more than 250,000 tons of wood waste and generate $168 million in revenue once it reaches full capacity.
Saint-Gobain employs 160,000 people in 76 countries and generated $52 billion in revenue last year. It is committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
