WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) – It’s been years in the making, but an industrial hemp facility has officially opened its doors in Wichita Falls, bringing with it some new job opportunities.
After a number of delays, the facility, Panda Biotech, is thrilled to get this project off the ground. This project has been in the works since 2020, and although there have been some delays in the process, the COO of Panda Biotech, Scott Evans, said the team has already begun producing goods for a number of industries.
He said as they approach an official opening day, it’s all been worth the wait.
“It took us a little while to get here, but we’re very happy to officially have our doors open and be in commercial operations,” he said.
Panda Biotech is the largest hemp processing facility in the U.S. that will efficiently process the fibers for textile applications.
“We are shipping out truck loads of finished product as well as receiving truck loads of bailed hemp straw of processing on a daily basis,” Evans explained.
The majority of the hemp straws are made into fibers and shorter hurd fibers that will be used for textiles, paper, construction and bio-plastics.
“This machinery creates about 50 percent of the goods in this facility, making 10 tons of product every hour,” he said.
This means there will be an additional 35 full-time employees needed to meet the production demand.
“We’re going to keep staffing up as we begin to bring more shifts on and produce around the clock instead of just one shift a day. This will bring new employment opportunities to the city,” he said.
This will also create more job opportunities outside of the facility.
“This is a very ambitious project. So, bringing a processing center to the community generates a lot of opportunities for the labor force, for logistics, for trucking as well as for the farmers: our most important player here,” he explained.
This practice has been used for thousands of years. Evans hopes the community understands how useful this natural resource can be.
“Learn more about industrial hemp and what exactly it is that we here: producing clean fiber and other products for downstream manufacturing,” he said.
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After a number of delays, they are thrilled to get this project off the ground. Read More