Status: Shareholding Company. 75% stock ownership
by "Kenaf Paper, Int’l." and 25% distributed to other entities in
exchange for participation, copyrights, patents, and other services.
Method: Kenaf is an annual plant indigenous to
Central Africa. It requires a 90 – 100 day growing cycle during which
it grows to approximately twelve (12) feet tall and from 1 – 3 inches
in diameter. It is characterized by long and strong bass fibers on the
outer layers of the stem, and short, weaker fibers in the central
pulpy portion of the plant.
Over two hundred scholarly, scientific article have
been written about the potential for the use of Kenaf as a substitute
for trees, in the making of Grade A bond paper for use in offices
around the world in laser printers and copy machines.
Dr. Kapp, and other persons that are currently
available for use in this project have obtained several process
patents for the environmentally safe processing of Kenaf. (Kenaf does
not require the type of bleaching that tree-based pulp does because of
its inherently "white" pulp color)
A KAPP-Standard pulp processing plant has been
designed which is capable of supporting the production of 10 million
tons of paper per year, with minimum impact to the environment.
Kenaf will be grown by farmers in the region of the
process plant. Meetings have already been held with the farmer’s
cooperatives and associations, and there is a high level of excitement
and anticipation. Kenaf will be purchased under contract with the
farmers, thereby allowing some advance payments to be made to the
farmers. This relationship will assure an adequate level of income to
the farmers, in an area where the small individual farmer is
hard-pressed to make an adequate living.
Target: The first KAPP-standard plant will be built
in Alabama, with subsequent plants being built throughout the southern
regions of the USA. These regions are ideally suited for Kenaf
production
Time: This project will take approximately 2 – 3
years to achieve full production capability. The startup time is
mostly a function of two things: 1) construction of the KAPP-standard
plant (one year), and 2) initiation and implementation of Kenaf
farming contracts sufficient to supply the plant.
Early production, systems testing and manufacturing
methods reviews, may all begin after the first full year of the
project.
Caveat: Although the estimated cost of the first
production facility is between $350M and $400M, subsequent
KAPP-Standard facilities should cost no more than $250M. The amount
required for the first facility includes many nonrecurring costs, as
well as the initial environmental impact studies, and a substantial
reserve for the implementation of the Kenaf Farming Program, which
will be administered through a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kenaf Paper,
Int’l.
