The Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE) is partnering with GreenCore Composites to develop a new green technology process that will allow wood fibre to be used in a number of new products for the packaging and building applications, such as pallets and various containers.

This new mixing process will be added to GreenCore’s existing NCell technology allowing GreenCore to widen the type of products in which glass fibre and other compounds such as plastics can be replaced with wood fibre composite materials.

The centre is providing $320,000 to GreenCore Composites for the project that will position GreenCore as a leader in natural fibre composites and Ontario as a leader in creating a more sustainable and greener economy.

GreenCore has already demonstrated that they are capable of replacing glass fibre reinforced compounds which are used in a wide variety of products but are extremely energy intensive to produce.

This wood fibre composite has been successfully piloted in many applications, from automotive parts, to rigid containers, furniture, and industrial products. The benefits include enhanced sustainability, reduced energy costs and lower carbon emissions. This technology is expected to grow GreenCore’s workforce from its current level of 6 employees to 40-45 by 2016.

Lorne Morrow CEO of CRIBE said;

There are so many benefits if we can replace the glass and plastic compounds used in a variety of consumer products with a compound made from a natural product like wood, not only are these type of products less energy intensive to produce but they are environmentally friendly and provide a new market for Ontario’s sustainably managed forest industry.

	CRIBE CRIBE Head Office Suite C134, Shuniah Building Confederation College 1450 Nakina Drive Thunder Bay, ON work Phone: 807.474.2028work Fax: 807.474.2030workfax
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Biography The Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy is a new provincial initiative to transform the forest products industry in Northern Ontario. We’re an independent, not-for-profit research corporation that partners closely with other relevant organizations to provide support to direct and turn research results and innovative business opportunities into operational realities. Forest products are a valuable, renewable and recyclable material with many uses. Northern Ontario’s vast boreal forest accounts for 76% of the province’s woodland and has supported most of Ontario’s forest industry since the 1870′s. Slower growth in demand for paper and a down turn in some markets have led to a profitability crisis for the Northern Ontario forest. In the 2008 Budget, the Government announced an investment of $25 million over four years to move the province to the forefront of the commercialization of the forest products industry. The new Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy in Thunder Bay will partner closely with other relevant organizations to provide support to direct and turn research results and innovative business opportunities into operational realities. As it’s done throughout its history, the entire forest-based sector will renew and restructure itself and develop new operating models to meet current challenges. Our region will become known world-wide as producers of novel value-added products in addition to, or instead of, commodity products such as pulp, newsprint and dimensional lumber. The bio-economy will play a central role in the metamorphosis of Northern Ontario’s future – creating jobs, opportunity and prosperity.

	GreenCore Composites GreenCore Composites Head Office 642 King Street West #200 Toronto, Ontario M5V 1M7 Canadawork Phone: 1-855-255-5422work
About	Website | Show Map |
Biography GreenCore Composites is a Cleantech manufacturer of Natural Fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials sought by molders of Automotive, Consumer, and other Industrial products. Our advanced materials and process technology are a combination of GreenCore developed and exclusively licensed IP, including technology invented at the Faculty of Forestry and Chemical Engineering, University of Toronto. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, GreenCore is presently operating a manufacturing plant in Mississauga, Ontario for product development, and to produce commercial quantities of our NCell™ high performance compounds.