Fibers for the Future: Why I Started Plant Fiber Technologies

For most of my career, I’ve been trying to build new industry in the United States using natural fibers. It's been a journey that has brought me across the world, exposed me to unique and novel manufacturing processes, and has tought me how to bring new products and materials to market.

Perhaps most importantly, it has reinforced my belief that fibers are a massive industry, one that many don't see and understand, and that natural fibers has the potential to radically transform our future for the better.

Years back, I started this journey as an architecture student fascinated by sustainable materials. I wanted to understand how we could design and manufacture products that are from renewable resources, like hemp fiber. This curiosity led me to co-found Hempitecture, where I’ve spent the better part of a decade scaling natural fiber insulation from an idea, to a nationally recognized company. We manufacture thousands of pounds of natural fiber nonwovens daily. Not just from hemp, but also from other fibers like regenerated and recycled textiles, biopolymers like PLA, cotton, jute, polymers, and more.

Despite our exposure to running all sorts of fibers, my efforts within Hempitecture are confined to our core business agenda of hemp fiber thermoacoustic materials (which is a good thing!). However, my passion for the space of fiber manufacturing colors outside the lines of just Hempitecture, leading to the formation of Plant Fiber Technologies. PFT is my vehicle to advance my belief that fibers play a critical role in our manufactured lives, and that natural and recycled fibers from a variety of sources, not just hemp fiber, will sit at the core of that manufactured future.

At Hempitecture, we built the first manufacturing plant of its kind in the USA, and forged a new category of nonwoven materials. We started with no manufacturing experience and have since mastered a craft at the nexus of natural resources and complicated technology.

Along the way, I learned the hard realities of manufacturing: Natural fibers present unique challenges. Manufacturing facilities require CapEx and upkeep. Product development is iterative, it takes time and know-how. The machinery required to accomplish your goals is hard to find, and there are diverse options. You could have the best products, but you have to be skilled at marketing and messaging for it to matter.

Through that journey, one thing became clear: the technologies, fibers, and know-how needed to make natural fiber products are scattered, guarded, and often filtered through sales channels that don’t always serve your goals. Every machinery OEM is inherently incentivized to sell you their technology. Every fiber supplier has different grading criteria for their quality, with no harmonized pricing or characterization structure.

There is no singular, unbiased voice to guide companies and individuals through the process from concept to manufacturing facility with natural and recycled fiber products.

That’s why I started Plant Fiber Technologies: to be the independent, experienced voice I wish I’d had when I was scaling Hempitecture.

At PFT, we bridge the gap between fiber innovation and industrial manufacturing. Whether you’re developing a new nonwoven material, evaluating machinery, or looking to create a product without a factory, we bring hard-won experience from running real factories, real trials, and real capex projects.

We’re not agents. We’re not tied to any one OEM or supplier for a commission. We’re here to help you find the right solution for your application. Even though we're not agents representing one specific company, we have a rolodex of global contacts to enable your success.

The four pillars of Plant Fiber Technologies:

1. Technology Scoping & OEM Introductions: From fiber processing to nonwovens, we help you specify, source, and commission the right equipment — no matter your fiber type or technology subset. Nonwoven, Fiber Injection Molding, Fiber Processing & more, our global network has the technology needed for your project & budget.

2. Fiber Sourcing & Supply: From hemp to recycled textiles, biopolymers, and more - we source and engineer the right fiber blend for your process and product. Whether optimizing for performance, sustainability, or circularity, we help you build from the best natural inputs on Earth

3. Market Development Production & Trials: Before you invest, test. We help you design & execute trials, all the way to pilot production. Do you have a product you want to create? Together we can R&D your product through trials, and advance it to production to test the market, all without ever having to build a factory. When you're ready and your product is a success, we support your scale up.

4. Knowledge & Consulting: Consulting with us leverages our experience for your success. Whether you're an experienced nonwoven manufacturer looking to reach new customers or a new company seeking to meet customers where they are, our experience in leveraging social media, utilizing modern marketing techniques, and through our ideas around fostering engaging content, we can create custom ways to support and scale your business.

If you’re working with natural fibers, trying to commercialize a product, or just need to talk through how to turn an idea into something manufacturable, I’ve probably been where you are.

Let’s build a fiber future together.