Hemp company holds grand opening for new Georgetown facility

SCOTT CO., Ky. (WKYT) - What was once a vision, became reality Monday as the community celebrates the grand opening of a new state of the art hemp facility in Georgetown.

Ecofibre Unlimited is an Australian-based company that develops new, high-tech uses for hemp and CBD.

The $16 million Georgetown project is part of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s hemp pilot program. Ag Commissioner Ryan Quarles says his ultimate goal is for hemp to be on par with bourbon as a product synonymous with the commonwealth.

“This year we expect there to be somewhere between 800 and 900 Kentucky farmers growing hemp,” Quarles said. “Somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 acres, and we expect there to be over 200 hemp companies. That’s a 10-percent increase from last year to this year, and EcoFibre is one of many.”

Ahead of Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, staff members handed out one the company’s latest creations - reusable face masks made from Kentucky proud hemp fibers.

Ecofibre CEO Eric Wang says the masks are a perfect example of the versatile nature of the crop, which can be used to make just about anything.

“It’s not just about the use of what you read in the paper, it goes far deeper in terms of what can be done,” Wang said. “And I think it can bring about a lot of economic development and innovation to the state of Kentucky.”

In addition to upping the demand for Kentucky proud hemp, Ecofibre has created 60 new jobs here in Georgetown.

Ecofibre is the world’s second-largest hemp company with sites in Australia, California, Pennsylvania and now Kentucky.

Copyright 2020 WKYT. All rights reserved.