Innovation

The innovation we picked to interview Lucas Evans about was Texas Hemp Processors. Texas Hemp Processors was created in 2019 and the headquarters is in Taylor, Texas. The company focuses on the processing infrastructure and product development of industrial hemp. Lucas talked about how the company collaborates with landowners along with farmers to optimize the sustainable profitability of their land which is super important. They process industrial hemp in Texas and it is a seasonal business since agriculture takes time. “Cultivating industrial hemp for feed, fiber and fuel. At Texas Hemp Processors we aren't concerned with the recreational or drug use of this plant but rather the impact to agriculture and society as a sustainable raw material. We act as stewards of this land, caring for its health to support yours” (Texas Hemp Processors).

A lot of people wanted sustainable clothing and hemp but no one was processing it. He said it was a massive vacuum that had to be filled, so he bought a machine and land to get the economy started. During the interview, he talked about how hemp itself produces more yield than any other crop. It grows faster and the ownership of seed plus agriculture can be difficult to get through, but with hemp, that isn’t the case. There are many guerilla growers in the world. The innovation emerged from passion and a plan to make a difference in the world. Empowering farmers is the root of it all.

He first mentioned that he had a ton of support from friends and family. In the beginning of the journey, he hired most of his friends from college, since he knew them personally, with the goal of providing equity options. Lucas wanted to have some fun and start a business that made a difference in his life as well as other people's lives. As the company grew, they hired people with specific skills and they are always looking for the best talent. Friends and family were also initial investors until angel investors joined the journey. As of right now, they have 4 people full-time and about 7 people working part-time.

The mission is to empower farmers and “make farming sexy again”. In college, he heard the statistic that farmers had a very high rate of suicide. He couldn’t believe it, so he wanted to build a business to help empower them. Food, most of our clothes, and fresh air come from agriculture, and Lucas believed that we just don’t represent it at all in our economies. The company is trying to build a new economy that is rooted in agriculture and organic materials. He believes that the goal will benefit everything else with that goal itself. “The real thing is manufacturing, people don’t want to do it in America. I just knew I wanted to do something.”

Inspiration

Texas Hemp Processors came about when Lucas was going through college pursuing environmental studies and reflecting on his past growing up on farms and his travels all around the world. Due to his background, he thought about how farming is an undercapitalized industry; from there, he thought of ways to help the environment and those living in it, and he saw how lucrative industrial help was and all the potential it had. With the United States monopolizing tendency in the agriculture industry, we tend only to have a few significant manufacturers for products, and everyone else falls to the wayside. In regards to hemp and its versatility, many businesses are interested in using it but have no way to get the materials they need. The issue was that nobody was producing enough to use it on a wider scale, which is how the idea for Texas Hemp Processors came about. Lucas said, “It’s like a massive vacuum that had to be filled, and so we bought machines and land and started processing hemp to get the economy started.”

The motivation behind Texas Hemp Processors stemmed from a desire to initiate positive change. Lucas wanted to do something with a positive impact that would help reform the system of processing and manufacturing regarding sustainability. This motivation came from his interest in understanding where we are as a species and society and how we can change it to be more environmentally friendly. Lucas wanted to do something out of the box and different than a tedious nine-to-five office job. In our interview, he states, "We are a service-based economy, so I know I wanted to make things and make farming sexy again and get people to pay attention to agriculture and land." Ultimately, due to his background, he was also motivated to bring awareness to agriculture and show how it is still a profitable career that is necessary for the economy.

Hemp is a commodity crop everyone wants for various uses, such as sustainable clothing, new construction products, etc. Although it is a commodity, not many companies were producing it, so although many companies wanted it for products, there were not many middlemen making the product for them to sell sustainable products. Recognizing hemp's untapped potential helped motivate him to start Texas Hemp Processors.

Overall impact

Texas Hemp Processor’s operations target cultivating industrial hemp for feed, fiber, and fuel. Hemp, a sustainable raw material, positively impacts both the earth and society. It is a versatile undercapitalized crop, that can be utilized to feed, house, clothe, and can also be applied to transportation purposes. During the interview, Lucas Evans stated, “When I graduated, I knew that I wanted to do something with a positive impact and, you know, if not change the whole system.” Lucas Evans, the founder of Texas Hemp Processors, is committed to the hemp processing sustainable innovation and has developed several different applications and materials with hemp being the primary material, with Hempcrete, textiles, insulation, cattle feed, and hemp hurd being comprehensive examples.

Texas Hemp Processors has developed an expansive range of product offerings that can be utilized for a wide range of applications from construction to aerospace. This innovation has made it possible for businesses to reach their sustainability targets with Texas Hemp’s utilization of renewable materials, eliminating supply chain complexity and slow lead times, while supporting a local business and farmers. The majority of Texas Hemp Processor’s business is B-to-B, and there is a deficiency in sustainable material manufacturers in the United States, and as Lucas stated “There's no middle person and it just was like a massive vacuum that had to be filled… We're trying to build a new economy, like a truly bio-based economy, that is rooted in agriculture and organic materials, and then it will benefit everything else and trickle down.” Not only has the hemp processing innovation positively impacted Texas Hemp Processors, but it has proven to have a positive influence on several different businesses that integrate this sustainable innovation into their operations.

Farmers in the United States are a large segment of our society, and are both underpaid and mistreated. When asked about how hemp processing impacts society, Lucas Evans stated “Empowering farmers…land, agriculture…it's like all of our food and clothes most of them. Fresh air comes from agriculture, and we just don't represent it at all in most economies. It's just like super depressed.” As stated previously in the innovation section, Lucas also mentioned that farmers have maintained one of the highest suicide rates in the United States, and he is determined to empower them through his business. In terms of economic opportunities, hemp processing creates jobs in both the manufacturing and agricultural sectors of the business. The creation of jobs, particularly sustainable jobs, not only contributes to economic growth, but it positively impacts society. Sustainable hemp processing also reduces the amount of harmful chemicals from herbicides and pesticides that pollute the environment, additionally promoting sustainable practices to society.

Texas Hemp Processor’s mission is to produce sustainable hemp materials to supply eco-designed products for various applications. When questioned in the interview regarding hemp processing’s environmental benefits, Lucas Evans stated “The concept is now seed-to-shelter, basically combining construction and agriculture and in the process, sequestering carbon and giving people housing.” The environmental impact of hemp processing extends further than the sustainability of hemp itself. It rather promotes businesses and people to integrate the material into operations and ultimately contributes to the generation of a bio-based economy. Texas Hemp Processors' operations positively impact clean air, clean water, land, erosion, and healthy construction, and the business creates sustainable jobs. On the topic of Texas Hemp Processors' environmental impact, Lucas Evans stated “The thing is, every other company doing anything is kind of extracting or taking advantage of it.” Hemp processing is an innovation that removes the “extraction” aspect of manufacturing raw materials and focuses on sustainably developing products that businesses can utilize to conduct business responsibly and consciously. This innovation additionally reduces dependency on fossil fuels, conserves water, sequesters carbon, and contributes to biodiversity conservation.

In the agriculture business, when discussing the difficulties in the business, Lucas stated, “We've kind of monopolized agriculture to such a way that, like, there's only a few large producers.” Smaller businesses have a difficult time in the agriculture business and find that it is harder to achieve success in the short term. With just 3 years in business, Texas Hemp Processors has served 26 states and over 250 customers. Sustainable development is not extremely effective in the short term, but the business has expanded into construction as well and is working on creating homes out of hemp as well. These are all developments that will take some years to achieve, but the long-term effects of hemp processing are projected to be extremely profitable and prosperous. Hopefully, in the long term, there will be regulatory changes where policies will be enacted to encourage sustainable development, and hemp processing companies will be a necessity in sourcing materials. The world is constantly changing and is facing an increasingly environmentally conscious and sustainable future, and the sustainable materials market is expected to experience substantial growth in the upcoming years.

Business benefit

Producing hemp allows Texas Hemp Processors to tap into multiple markets due to its versatility. Consumers' demand for more eco-friendly and sustainable products helped form a growing hemp market and the goods created by it. Due to hemp's fast-growing rate and the market's desire for hemp, it helps generate a lot of profit for Texas Hemp Processors, benefiting the business greatly.

Social and environmental benefit

Manufacturing and producing hemp for industrial purposes offers significant environmental and societal benefits. Hemp is a highly sustainable crop that requires minimal water, pesticides, and herbicides compared to other industrial crops like cotton or corn. Hemp products also offer eco-friendly alternatives to materials that generally use fossil fuels. Using fossil fuels creates air pollution, ultimately harming the earth's atmosphere and health. In regards to society, it helps create jobs and stimulates economic growth in communities.

Interview

Lucas Noble Evans, Founder/CEO