MADISON, ME — Stantec has been selected by GO Lab to provide engineering services for the multidisciplinary detailed design of a wood fiber insulation manufacturing facility in Madison, Maine. The $150 million project will retrofit an existing paper mill that was shuttered in 2016 into a manufacturing facility that can produce TimberHP insulation products out of biomass materials from the existing forestry sector in the state. Wood fiber insulation reduces operational carbon emissions, provides energy savings, and sequesters carbon to help drive the energy transition.

The TimberHP manufacturing facility in Maine is the first of its kind in North America. The insulation manufacturing technology, originally developed in Germany, is a high-performance, scalable, and sustainable alternative to other insulation products like fiberglass, foam, or mineral wool. The sustainable TimberHP products are vapor open, renewable, recyclable, nontoxic, and able to store carbon. By repurposing an existing paper mill, as well as using refurbished manufacturing technology from Germany, the project highlights the benefits of reuse and asset transformation.

Stantec is assisting the project by providing project and program management; industrial engineering support; civil, structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering; HVAC and ventilation services; and construction support.

“GO Lab’s TimberHP facility in Maine serves as a great example of repurposing existing infrastructure to drive economic development and meet the needs of the future,” said Mario Finis, Executive Vice President of Energy & Resources at Stantec. “Stantec is proud to be part of this transformative project, which creates high quality jobs, supports the local forestry industry, and leverages renewable biomass materials to reduce carbon emissions and help drive the energy transition.”

TimberHP products are an innovative approach to insulation, using wood fiber material to deliver reliability, durability, sustainability, and safety. The reimagined facility will manufacture three insulation products, including TimberFill (loose fill and dense pack insulation for attics and stud cavities); TimberBatt (thermal cavity insulation for wall cavities, rafters, and interior partitions); and TimberBoard (exterior continuous insulation with high compressive strength and interior insulation for walls, floors, and ceilings).

“For over two decades, dry-process wood fiber insulation has provided the European construction sector with better performing building envelope and acoustic solutions, and the technology has grown into a billion-dollar market in the EU,” said Josh Henry, Co-Founder and President of GO Lab. "GO Lab, Inc. is proud to bring production to North America where TimberHP will transform wood waste from the forest products industry into wood fiber loose fill, press-fit batts, and exterior boards to be sold in the mainstream market at cost parity with traditional insulation types.” 

TimberHP by GO Lab is looking to expand its U.S. presence with additional facilities and has retained Stantec to provide conceptual studies and preliminary design services for sites in the Midwest and on the West Coast. Once complete, these manufacturing facilities will deliver sustainable insulation products to homes and communities across the U.S.