Hemp Voices: Tom Rossmassler, HempStone, LLC
Chief Embodied Officer (CEO) of Massachusetts-based HempStone, responsible for finance, administration, project management and research and development.
Hemp building and other natural carbon storing materials have two features that interest us. First is innate material qualities that allow for elegant one stop solutions to building science problems the industry has struggled with for years including, but not limited to, dealing with moisture management, fire rated assemblies, IAQ, net carbon storing solutions, and continuous thermal boundary optimization. Second, for hemp in particular, is the ability to scale and develop the supply chain to produce innovative and disruptive bio-based materials that are badly needed to roll back and regenerate both energy consumption AND embodied carbon in our built environment.
What was a win for your company in the past year? Last year we pivoted to focus more on consulting and the research and development of our premanufactured blocks for retrofit and permanent shuttering and on panel systems. We also established some strategic partnerships that will allow us to deliver more comprehensive turnkey services to our clients.
What is something about hemp building/construction/processing you didn’t know a year ago? Last year we discovered that the secret may very well be in the sauce. Explorations in recovering lignans from industrial hemp for use as a biobinder may soon help lead to the release of new and disruptive materials on the market.
What challenges does the hemp building industry face that it must overcome in the next five years? The challenge of the supply chain will continue to be the bottleneck over the next few years. As new and more sophisticated hemp products come online we are also faced with a massive education effort to make inroads into the demand side as well.
Contact: Tom Rossmassler, CEO
tom@hempstone.net
413-326-1860