GO Lab Inc. to Build First North American Wood-Fiber Insulation Factory in Madison, Maine

GO Lab Inc., a Belfast, Maine startup, has closed on the sale of $85 million in bond funding and completed a New Markets Tax Credit transaction that will fund the construction of a wood-fiber insulation factory at the former UPM paper in Madison.

If construction work goes as planned, GO Lab expects to be producing its TimberHP loose-fill insulation in Q1 of 2023, followed by wood fiber batt and board products in Q2 and Q3.

All three product offerings will be byproducts of Maine’s timber industry, made from softwood chips or residual material from sawmilling, and low-value pulpwood removed from stands of timber throughout the state. This will help the state of Maine, which has been looking for new, value-added forest products in recent years, as the downsizing and closure of paper mills has shrunk the market for sawmill residuals and low-grade pulpwood.

The plant will be the first wood-fiber insulation facility in North American. When at full capacity, it will employ approximately 120 people.