MJBizMag September 2020 - 10

FiveQuestions | with Steve Allin
Is Construction the Future
of Europe's Hemp Industry?
Building materials help isolate growers from fluctuations in the CBD market,
promote sustainable growing methods, says director of international association
By Monica Raymunt
W
ith the regulatory landscape for CBD in Europe
growing more and more tenuous, some hemp
growers are adamant that fiber-based products
offer a way to prop up the industry.
One such business is HempFlax, Europe's largest
independent hemp grower and processor. The Netherlandsbased
company acquired German natural fiber insulation
manufacturer Thermo Natur earlier this year to diversify
its product offerings, double down on hemp construction
materials and protect itself from CBD-market volatility.
Still, interest and investment in hempcrete businesses
and projects has amounted to a fraction of what the
CBD industry has experienced-something that grates on
Steve Allin, director of the International Hemp Building
Association and the author of " Building With Hemp. "
" The focus on CBD is going completely the wrong way and
is part of an out-of-date paradigm, " said Allin, who is based
in Ireland. " The only CBD I'm interested in is Cannabis
Building Design. "
Allin said the construction industry has started to move
toward hemp and sustainable materials in parts of Europe,
but conventional materials still dominate, and widespread
use of hemp " is still a long way away. "
For its third issue dedicated to the international cannabis
market, Marijuana Business Magazine spoke with Allin to
learn where hemp construction is taking off in Europe and
what markets look promising.
What hemp-derived products are currently the most
successful in Europe? How do you see that changing?
Fiber and biomass ... offer alternatives to unsustainable
practices in the textile and construction industries. Recent
developments in hemp textile fiber processing and the
growing awareness of the benefits of hemp building
materials will provide an alternative to the CBD craze. It will
also mean a return to more ecological growing methods
of field crops rather than neutered marijuana, which is far
more intensive (to farm).
10 Marijuana Business Magazine | September 2020
Belgian hempcrete block maker IsoHemp reportedly
raised nearly $8.24 million (7 million euros) to build
a new factory. What do you think this says about
investment in the hemp construction sector?
IsoHemp started out as a small local company making
hemp blocks with a local hemp supply, which then
attracted government help to expand to 1 million blocks
a year. Demand has now propelled them into a 7-millionblock-a-year
entity.
As seen by the expansion of the IsoHemp factory, this
value-added enterprise is what the processing sector needs
to justify the initial investment.
Expecting the initial investment in primary processing
to give quick returns is not realistic. In such a new
industry, we need to have value-added products or
products that the materials can be turned into to make
the enterprise a success.
Steve Allin

MJBizMag September 2020

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