HempWood Founder Greg Wilson, who works closely with Murray State University’s Hutson School of Agriculture, opened a second factory in Murray in August, capitalizing on growth in the hemp industry in Kentucky and nationwide.
Sen. Rand Paul attended the official opening and performed the ceremonial “board-cutting.”
Wilson, a Maryland native, has a history of working with alternatives to traditional building materials. He spent more than a decade working for a company in China that manufactured bamboo flooring. It was there that he developed a respiratory condition due to exposure to the manufacturing adhesive formaldehyde. That experience – plus the U.S. legalization of hemp in the 2014 Farm Bill – is what inspired him to search for a safe, cost-effective alternative to traditional lumber materials. That’s when he began working closely with Murray State University’s Agriculture Department.
In 2019, HempWood began hiring students from the University’s agricultural department. Several of those interns continued to work for HempWood after graduation. Austin Corn is one such alumnus who now has partial ownership of the company.
HempWood opened its first factory six years ago, producing lumber materials from the fibers of the cannabis plant. The company is also known for creating an eco-friendly, soy-based adhesive, which Wilson credits to Murray State University Chemistry Professor Dr. Kevin Miller. The unique adhesive is one of the keys to Wilson’s patented formula for turning hemp fibers into a sustainable wood product that Wilson says has a 20% higher density than oak.
Wilson said from start to finish the process for making HempWood is all done locally.
Chris Wooldridge, director of the Murray State Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Development said HempWood’s growth is in large part to Wilson’s commitment to success.
“Working with Greg and HempWood is an honor and an education,” said Wooldridge. “Watching his drive, focus and determination to make an amazing, eco-friendly product from a fast growing, carbon adsorbing plant that is grown right here in the Commonwealth is inspiring and impressive.”
Murray State planted the first legal agricultural hemp research plot in Kentucky in 2014 – some of the first hemp plants grown in the U.S. since its cultivation was prohibited in 1970. Murray State was cited by Congressman James Comer as the first university in the country to participate in the hemp pilot program.
Photo: HempWood Founder Greg Wilson, who works closely with Murray State University’s Hutson School of Agriculture, opened a second factory in Murray in August, capitalizing on growth in the hemp industry in Kentucky and nationwide. Sen. Rand Paul attended the official opening and performed the ceremonial “board-cutting.”