Ultra Green will open a state-of-the-art wheat straw pulping and molding facility in Devils Lake before the end of the year.
It’s the culmination of more than a year-long search for Ultra Green as they evaluated 243 communities that competed for their factory.
“We finally narrowed it down to two,” Mack Traynor said. He is CEO of Ultra Green that presently manufactures 80 different products made from agriculture byproducts in China.
“Amarillo, Texas and Devils Lake, N.D. were the final two communities. Our decision was based on the proximity to farming and the byproducts we needed, like wheat straw, and the availability of water. So Devils Lake won out and here we are,” Traynor said.
A special meeting was held Friday, March 2 in City Hall where the city of Devils Lake approved an economic development grant for the facility to be housed in the former Noodles by Leonardo building in the city’s industrial park.
Within the first year Traynor says their plan is to hire at least 100 people with the potential of expanding to 400 or more over the next several years, providing jobs and economic growth for the region.
He had several of their products with him as he explained what the factory will be making. Wheat straw, for example, is harvested and turned into a pulp and formed into the various shapes of serving and baking ware. He explained that angelfood cakes, for example, could be baked in the forms, taken out of the oven, a clear plastic lid - that they will also manufacture here out of recycled plastic - placed on the top and placed on the shelves for sale at local bakeries. He had several different items that could be handled similarly including muffin pans and so on.
“We are extremely excited to bring manufacturing jobs to Devils Lake and be the first company in the U.S. to manufacture biodegradable, compostable and sustainable bakeable food service products made from wheat straw,” Traynor said.
“This will benefit the farmers around the area, as we will be looking for sources of agricultural byproducts - the wheat straw, we will go in the fields we contract with and harvest it ourselves,” he explained.
The containers, he said, can go from use back to dirt in 90 days in a commercial composter. He also said they had no intention of closing their China-based operation but rather are expanding to Devils Lake in hopes that other markets would open up, then, for their products being made here in preference to “made in the USA” items.
It will take most of the next nine months to get the factory ready, but they hope to have it up and running by Dec. 1.
They currently sell their products to hundreds of natural food and grocery stores throughout the U.S. through regional and national distributors. Some of those names include Safeway, Sam’s Club and Target Cafeteria.
Ultra Green Packaging Inc. is a privately held company selling eco-friendly paper products made from sustainable materials derived from plants like wheat, bamboo and sugar cane. It also sells bioplastic products made from cornstarch.
In a press release provided by the company Ultra Green says it believes it’s time to “take the next step to protect the environment. People no longer have to destroy forests to make paper products, or use petrol-based plastics that clutter and contaminate the planet. Ultra Green sees a new horizon with a planet that’s healthier for our children and all of us.”
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