HempBuild Magazine

*Lucas Evans, CEO, speaks to reporters in front of the E3 Agriculture hemp gin at the facility’s open house in Taylor, TX. Photo courtesy of E3 Agriculture*

By Jean Lotus

A historic cotton gin in Central Texas is back in business, this time turning industrial hemp into the raw materials for hempcrete homes and insulation. E3 Agriculture and its consumer sister brand, The Gentleman Farm, celebrated the grand opening of a hemp processing facility inside the Williamson County Gin on Sept. 18.

About 70 people turned out, including community members, business leaders, mayors, farmers and investors. "I wanted to make it just kind of a shindig," said founder Lucas Evans, a seventh-generation Texas farmer. "We didn't want to put it out to too many people because I felt like it could have turned into like 500."

The gin facility is the centerpiece of E3's Seed to Shelter™ model, which aims to sell every part of the plant. "Seed to shelter is the concept," Evans told HempBuild Mag. "Planting a home is what we're after."

E3 grew 280 acres of hemp this year and expects to harvest about 200 acres for fiber and close to 80 for grain. Evans is aiming for 600 to 700 acres next year. The facility can handle up to 600 acres in its initial configuration and more than 7,000 acres at full capacity, according to the company.

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*Visitors at the E3 Hemp Gin Open House in Taylor, TX. Photo courtesy of E3 Agriculture*

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From field to wall

Hurd from the Taylor gin goes into hempcrete. E3 has supplied hempcrete for four houses so far this year, with three more lined up for the fall. The company also distributes hempcrete binder in Texas. "If there's anybody who needs binder or Texas-grown hemp hurd, we've got it," Evans said.

The fiber is sent to a manufacturer in North Carolina, which turns it into a nonwoven mat E3 calls "fiber grass." The mat works as insulation and carpet underlayment. Evans said E3 now holds about 200,000 pounds of material in inventory, with roughly 1.2 million more pounds coming through the pipeline.
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When HempBuild Mag reached him, Evans was in Tyler, Texas — about 200 miles northeast of Taylor — overseeing a hemp attic insulation job. The client had mold in the house, so E3's crew removed the old insulation and packed the attic over hardware mesh. Tyler is part of E3's push into East Texas distribution, toward Houston and into Arkansas.

"I would say hempcrete is entering into a mainstream building material," Evans said. "I meet people all the time who have no clue really about hemp, but they know about hempcrete."

Buildings on the horizon

Two hempcrete construction projects are in the works. In Taylor, the gin property connects to a planned mixed-use development, and E3's real estate partner wants to build a three-story mixed-use hempcrete building there. Evans said Taylor's mayor attended the opening and the city is enthusiastic about the project.

In Rockdale, about 30 miles east of Taylor, E3 has teamed up with 3D construction printing company Liberty 3D. Liberty 3D has 12 lots in Rockdale, and E3 holds an option to build on two of them. Evans said E3 put that project on hold to get the gin open.

The Rockdale work is planned as a multi-year project with Texas A&M University researchers who have studied 3D printing and hemp. "We're looking to complete that project," Evans said. "Doing a full 3D printed hempcrete house."

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A gin built to be copied

Evans said about 60% of the Taylor equipment is new, including decorticators, bale busters and hammer mills. The original gin and press remain, along with carding machines that E3 expects to bring online in four to five months.

Evans said E3 has invested just under $1 million to reach this point and expects to spend about $10 million over five years. Under its agreement with the Taylor Economic Development Corporation, E3 committed to at least $2 million in capital investment and 20 full-time-equivalent jobs within five years.

*Inside the new E3 hemp gin facility. Photo courtesy of E3 Agriculture*

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The low entry cost is the point. Empty cotton gins dot the rural South, and E3 wants to replicate the Taylor setup in them. "We have kind of just like a copy-paste franchise model," Evans said. "We can come in, help set it up, help run it." He said three gins are already lined up, and E3 is eyeing projects in Arkansas, New Mexico, the Carolinas and Georgia.

Grain remains E3's most consistent revenue. The company sells hemp grain as feed to small and midsize ranches raising chickens, horses, goats, pigs and exotic birds, and The Gentleman Farm sells hemp bedding and seed supplements nationwide. Many feed customers are also open to building with hemp, he said.

His advice to others entering the industry: "I think one thing I would encourage people to do is to think local and regional."