CleanFiber raises $10 million to increase production at Blasdell facility

CleanFiber plans to use the $10 million – from global investment management firm AXA IM Alts – to fund its plan to increase its local production capacity by five times in the next year, CEO Jon Strimling said.

That expansion includes a 5,200-square-foot addition to its 60,000-square-foot building on Lake Avenue in Blasdell. The company will also invest in additional heavy industrial equipment and technology needed to increase production, Strimling said. 

"We have orders for as much product as we can ship," Strimling said. "So it is really a matter of building out production capacity. That should allow us to get this first facility to profitability."

After that, CleanFiber will look to open additional manufacturing facilities across the United States and internationally, Strimling said. 

Since the company's founding in 2013, CleanFiber has raised more than $50 million from investors. After years of research and development, CleanFiber began selling its cellulose insulation made from recycled corrugated cardboard in 2020. 

During a year that's been difficult for startups to raise money, CleanFiber raised $8.5 million in venture capital and $14 million of debt financing earlier this year. Strimling attributes the company's fundraising success to its historically strong growth. CleanFiber has more customer demand than it can currently fulfill with its existing facility and equipment.

"By adding additional equipment, investors have a high degree of confidence that the sales and the orders will be there," Strimling said. "We have been able to secure capital because we have customers that want product and we have a proven production method that allows us to make a high-quality product at a very competitive price to customers."

CleanFiber is almost fully staffed with more than 90 employees, Strimling said, and has doubled its growth this year. 

CleanFiber is still working to secure a building permit for its facility expansion, but Strimling said construction will hopefully start "quite soon." 

Founded in Massachusetts and originally named UltraCell, the company moved to Buffalo and changed its name after winning $500,000 in the 2016 43North startup contest. Locally, CleanFiber has received investments from the Western New York Impact Investment Fund and the Buffalo Angels.  

The company claims its recycled cardboard insulation is more efficient and safer than regular insulation. CleanFiber uses a patented process that infuses fire retardant directly into the fiber.