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known for its abundance of trees, that doesn’t affect the company because it doesn’t use wood in its products. Instead, Heartland depends on recyclable plastic and the area’s abundant wheat straw to produce the composite product. Heartland opened in October 2006 following less than a year of construction and years of feasibility analyses and research. Founder and president, Heath Van Eaton, grew up on a wheat farm in Colby, Kan., where he became interested in developing a market for wheat straw. Over the years, he formed his vision, which he has commercialized. In the late 1980s, he heard of a company that produced pressed particle board from straw.
When he learned of wood composite products made of wood and plastic, he set out to see if straw could act as the organic component. He found that the cellulose in wheat straw is similar to that in wood. The straw adds strength which is missing from a straight plastic product. The straw also gives it a natural, grainy look and the smell of a clean barn. Since 1994, Van Eaton has been actively developing this product and forming a vertically integrated system that takes the raw materials to a finished, tested product in one facility. Today, his company produces the only composite product using wheat straw. Most other composites are made of sawdust, vinyl or
PHOTO: HEARTLAND BIOCOMPOSITES LLC
he first thing one might notice at the Heartland BioComposites LLC manufacturing facility is the type of fencing that’s used: a sixfoot picket fence similar to what can be seen in many backyards as opposed to a chain-link fence. A split-rail fence separates the loading area from the office area, while at the office door, a three-foot picket fence lines the walkway, and planter boxes surround the building. These products were made at the Heartland facility in an industrial park on the east side of Torrington, Wyo., just six miles from the Nebraska border. Although this region of the country isn’t
Straw gives the composite fence slats strength and a natural, grainy appearance.
40 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 12|2007