Dedicated to Innovation
CalPlant’s story begins with two men, Jerry Uhland and Jim Boyd, each having deep roots in the rice industry and a vision for solving a problem. Fast forward 25 years, and their vision is revolutionizing the MDF industry.
The Journey to Eureka™
CalPlant’s Economic Impact at a Glance
Supporting Our Community
CalPlant’s 276-acre manufacturing site is strategically located in Willows, California, in the heart of the Sacramento Valley. This area produces 20% of the rice in the United States, amounting to 1.5 million tons of rice straw every year. Using this as raw material CalPlant sources its rice straw from within an average 25-mile radius, ensuring that this revolutionary product benefits its immediate community.
Invested in a Better Future
Striving to go beyond sustainability, CalPlant’s Eureka™ MDF represents a drive to steward resources well and contribute to a better future for the Willows community, our country, and the planet. Because rice straw is annually renewable, CalPlant will transform an environmental burden into something of value, year after year. CalPlant’s reclamation of approximately 20% of the Sacramento Valley’s rice straw waste will significantly reduce the levels of water that would have been diverted from regional waterways to flood rice fields after harvest. Fewer flooded fields also means lower methane emissions due to the straw’s decomposition over the winter.
Environmental Certifications, Standards & Labels
We believe our rice straw-based MDF will be the most sustainable MDF on the planet. But we don’t expect you to take our word for it. Commencing with startup and continuing over several months, CalPlant will be pursuing these certifications, material ingredient labels and third-party verification of our environmentally advanced MDF:
- Pre-consumer recycled content certification
- Composite Panel Association’s EcoCertified Composite Sustainability Standard (ECC)
- Health Product Declaration (HPD) through the Health Product Declaration Collaborative
- Declare Label through the International Living Future Institute
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
- Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
- Environmentally Preferable Product label (EPP)