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

1991

When the State of California mandated the phasing out of field-burning, rice growers—Jerry Uhland included—turned to flooding to aid the straw’s decomposition. As he implemented the method himself, Uhland sensed this development would permanently change the industry.

1996

Uhland connected with Jim Boyd, another longtime rice farming expert and agriculturalist, who put forth a challenge: to find a use for all the rice straw farmers could no longer burn. The two aligned their efforts and formed CalAg, LLC.

CalAg launched to dedicate research to alternative uses for rice straw. As they worked toward solutions, the team experienced wins and failures, losses of funding and a variety of setbacks that would’ve led many to quit.

2016

The team’s focus on securing equity investment in alignment with its values pays off, and both the equity investment and the debt financing are lined up.

The California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA) issued $225 million in tax exempt green bonds to finance the CalAg project. And on the morning of December 7, 2016, the bond sale opens to a market in post-election disarray. The sale comes up short, with only half the bonds sold. The team would not be deterred, and plans for another attempt began to form.

1991
1996
1998
2003
2007
2008
2009-2011
2012
2014
2016
2017
2020

CalPlant’s Economic Impact at a Glance

140full-time positions at the plant

500part-time jobs created during straw harvest

800ancillary jobs created in the region

$15-$20 millionin estimated annual savings for rice growers supplying straw

300+construction jobs created while building the plant

25-30truckloads of MDF to be shipped per day

30%of California’s current MDF demand could be supplied by annual plant output

280Ktons of post-harvest rice straw waste recovered annually

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 (HBD) 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)