By Jean Lotus

Canadian building technology firm Renewabuild Field to Form Ltd. announced its first official U.S. licensing agreement this month. The agreement, signed with newly formed Renewabuild Great Plains, Inc., greenlights a planned manufacturing facility in Rock Valley, Iowa, to produce an interlocking load-bearing hemp-lime wall system.

The new company’s CEO, Bill Brehmer, told HempBuild Magazine that the technology for the Lego-style blocks caught his eye back in 2020 when he first signed a non-disclosure agreement with the blocks’ original Canadian company Just BioFiber.

Brehmer said he watched and waited until the Canadian firm Renewabuild licensed the technology and opened their first factory in Surrey, BC last year.

“As soon as they had the line, I kicked my business plan out and started raising money,” Brehmer said.

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Brehmer co-founded the venture with Ken Meyer of Winfred, SD’s Complete Hemp Processing, John Peterson of Dakota Hemp and Steve Vonk of HempAgra.

The city of Rock Valley is contributing $50,000 to $75,000 in economic development support, and the regional electric utility has USDA-backed funds available as low-interest loans. Local farmers also drove the early investment momentum, Brehmer said.

Brehmer said the company is targeting two markets: high-end custom home builders in Dallas, where he lives, and large commercial builders who currently rely on concrete masonry units.

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*John Peterson of Wakonda, SD-based Dakota Hemp moves a skid of interlocking hempcrete blocks from Renewabuild. Photo courtesy Ken Meyer*

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The Renewabuild system replaces framing, insulation, sheathing, vapor barrier, and drywall. Finished with lime stucco, a completed wall delivers R-40 performance, fire resistance, and no mold risk, the company says.

"I've played with numbers," Brehmer said. "Roughly on a stick frame house, we can eliminate 60 to 70% of the dimensional lumber by building with these blocks. What's that doing for trees and forests?"

By targeting a competitive price point of approximately $50 per square foot, Renewabuild says the system is an economically viable option for mainstream residential and commercial developers. With the licensing agreement finalized, the Renewabuild Great Plains team is moving forward with the factory buildout in Rock Valley next to HempAgra, Steve Vonk’s decortication facility.

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*A technician moves a hemp-block from the factory line at Renewabuild in Surrey, BC. Photo courtesy of Renewabuild*

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David Geertz, Partner and Chief Revenue Officer of Renewabuild Field to Form, said the Iowa agreement is a milestone validating the company's expansion strategy. The plant will serve as the initial testing ground for scaling the interlocking block system across the wider U.S. construction market, Geertz said.

"Bill Brehmer and the Renewabuild Great Plains team have shown the kind of local leadership, agricultural connection, and construction-sector commitment that our model was built for," Geertz said in a press release.

"This signing demonstrates that our business model can scale in a cost-effective and practical way, not only in Canada, but now also in the United States."

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Colorado is also in the company's sights, Brehmer said. The company held a meet-and-greet for Denver area developers last week, and exhibited at the ADAPT trade show at the Denver Art Museum sponsored by the US Green Building Council.

"Colorado's gonna be big for us," he said. "We started where the hemp's grown, but we're gonna be where the market leads us."

Brehmer said the longer-than-expected wait to start the company since 2020 allowed the new US affiliate to be the first out of the gate.

“I thank God we were the first one to get across the line,” he said. “That gives us some benefits — getting to market first."