Hoopa Valley Tribe announces strategic partnership with PJ Woodlands to build a wood-plastic composite manufacturing facility.
In California, the Hoopa Valley Tribe (Tribe) has announced that it has agreed to enter into a strategic partnership with PJ Woodlands LLC, the owner of “Altree”, a patented wood-plastic composite (WPC), to build the first production facility for the WPC using forest residues and recycled plastic. Under a long-term lease of the Hoopa Modular Facility, PJ Woodlands will repurpose the plant to manufacture Altree WPC sheeting products. PJ Woodlands LLC will enter into an exclusive management agreement with the Tribe and will be solely responsible for all business management of a company to be created under Hoopa Tribal Law. The strategic partnership with the Hoopa Valley Tribe provides PJ Woodlands with a WPC manufacturing plant, access to the Hoopa Valley Tribal labour force, and woody biomass in sufficient quantity to scale the manufacturing operations over time.
Located in north-eastern Humboldt County, the Hoopa Valley Tribe has over 3 000 members. The Tribe Reservation has around 90 000 acres (≈ 36 422 ha) of forestland designated a “Smartwood” forest by the Rainforest Alliance. “Altree” is a patent protected wood-plastic composite made from wood fibres derived from forest residues and recycled high-density polyethylene HDPE #2 plastic. It was initially developed in conjunction with USDA USFS Forest Products Laboratory. It is manufactured in sheets and is used as both a building product and as a substrate replacement to aluminium roadway signs. The strategic partnership includes a multi-million dollar investment by the Hoopa Valley Tribe, which will receive a significant minority equity stake in PJ Woodlands LLC. The transaction is expected to close in December 2016.
– Our strategic partnership provides many synergistic opportunities for both the members of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and our company – the forward-thinking Tribal Council is seizing the opportunity to participate in the commercialisation of this one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly, commercial product. We are embarking on a global venture designed to create employment in rural areas; maintain forest health by utilising forest slash on a large scale, as well as, creating new revenue streams for both the Tribe and our company. Our visions of protecting natural resources are perfectly aligned, said Tony J. Burger, CEO of PJ Woodlands LLC.
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