Will Sampson talks about how wealth can be found in what some view as waste, and his guest is Jeff Wagner, executive chairman of CalPlant, a company that is transforming rice straw, a waste product of rice farming, into high-quality medium density fiberboard panel products for the woodworking industry.
This episode of the Woodworking Network podcast was sponsored by 3M Xtract. With 3M Xtract, sanding is virtually dust-free. The new 3M Xtract system includes new net sanding discs, random orbital sanders, and portable dust extraction units that capture up to 97% of the dust generated during sanding. Here’s how it works: The net backing in the discs enables optimal dust capture through the vacuum sander, while ceramic 3M Precision-Shaped Grain delivers an industry-leading cut-rate. Want to learn more about the 3M Xtract Clean Sanding Solution? Go to 3mXtract.com. 3M Xtract™: Sanding, reimagined.
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
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Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Intro:
Welcome to this episode of the Woodworking Network Podcast. Join us as we explore the business of woodworking big and small and what it takes to succeed. I’m Will Sampson.
Today’s episode is sponsored by 3M Xtract. We’ll be talking with the executive chairman of CalPlant, a company making an innovative new board product made from rice straw and called Eureka. But first I want to talk about:
Wealth from waste
I love treasure hunts, especially the ones that have to do with finding treasure in plain site or treasure that few other people recognize as such. This is the fundamental component of entrepreneurial vision, seeing an opportunity for wealth and gain where others see little value or even just waste.
This is the vision that drives many to scour flea markets and garage sales, looking for bargains or rare finds. It powers the attraction behind shows like “Antiques Roadshow,” in which people hope that dusty attic trinket will turn out to be worth a fortune.
It wasn’t really a “fortune,” but I did make a tidy profit for a while picking up vintage archery equipment from rummage sales and reselling it to collectors and traditional archery fans. Most of the people who sold their old equipment to me saw it as pretty much household trash. They had quit doing archery or they had upgraded to modern high-tech equipment. Their old bows and arrows were just collecting dust or taking up space. In some cases, I could buy an old bow, clean it up, put a new string on it and sell it for four or five times what I had paid for it.
I upgraded my woodworking hand tool collection the same way, finding discarded but valuable tools, adding them to my collection and then selling off the ones they replaced.
But there’s also the treasure hunt of finding something that almost everyone considers a waste product and then developing a new way to make that waste valuable. In woodworking, there’s always been a focus on finding ways to make use of the inevitable waste created in the manufacturing process. There are lots of companies that make equipment to help turn wood waste into fuel for heat or power. Wood waste is also frequently used as bedding for animals or garden mulch. And then there are all the processes to turn wood waste into new kinds of wood products that can supplant or replace traditional solid wood products. Plywood, particleboard, and MDF are great examples.
Yet another class of treasure hunters are the ones who take waste products from one segment or industry and use that waste to make valuable products for an entirely different audience. There have been many attempts to try to convert various agricultural waste products into materials for woodworking. There have been attempts to make board products from wheat straw. More recently companies have been focused on rice hulls and rice straw waste. Recently, a student was awarded for coming up with a process to convert waste from making kombucha tea into a synthetic wood-like product.
Just like treasure hunters looking for the big gold strike, not all these efforts will pan out. But that doesn’t diminish the excitement in the discovery or the thrill of creating something new out of stuff other people would throw away.
The hunt is on!
Before we get to our interview with Jeff Wagner, let’s pause for a word from our sponsor.
Are you ready for a better way to sand? With 3M Xtract, sanding is virtually dust-free. The new 3M Xtract system includes new net sanding discs, random orbital sanders, and portable dust extraction units that capture up to 97% of the dust generated during sanding. Here’s how it works: The net backing in the discs enables optimal dust capture through the vacuum sander, while ceramic 3M Precision-Shaped Grain delivers an industry-leading cut-rate. Want to learn more about the 3M Xtract Clean Sanding Solution? Go to 3mXtract.com. That’s 3m-x-t-r-a-c-t.com. (spell it out). 3M Xtract™: Sanding, reimagined.
Now, let’s get to my interview with Jeff Wagner, executive chairman of CalPlant. This was recorded live at the AWFS Fair in Las Vegas.