Melissa LaCasse, CEO and co-founder of Tanbark Molded Fiber Products.

Tanbark Molded Fiber Products, a Portland-based company that wants to replace single-use plastic packaging with a sustainable option, has raised $1.7 million in seed funding to fund its first phase of growth.

Tanbark, which is currently a member of the Roux Institute’s Founder Residency program, manufactures Type 3 molded fiber packaging, which is one of the best replacements for single-use plastic and styrofoam, according to Melissa LaCasse, Tanbark’s co-founder and CEO.

“The entire world is looking at sustainability differently, and what to do about the problem of the rise of single-use plastic – and what are the solutions. If we don’t act now, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. Less than 10% of plastic is recycled. What doesn’t end up in landfills, to be dealt with by humans generations from now, ends up in our waterways and oceans,” LaCasse told Maine Startups Insider. “One of the fastest growing solutions to the plastic problem is Type 3 molded fiber packaging.”

Type 3 has a fine finish, is a cleaner process to make, and closely resembles thermoformed plastic in appearance and functionality, she said. Molded fiber, especially fiber produced domestically from renewable feedstock crops, has a lower carbon footprint and breaks down naturally in the environment. It can be composted or recycled.

Type 3 molded fiber packaging is not new. In fact, it was invented 100 years ago in Maine, according to LaCasse. But currently there are only a handful of Type 3 molded fiber packaging producers in the United States, and all are focused on commodities, she said. Tanbark’s innovation is in the technology and product equipment that allows it to serve low-volume orders, making the packaging more accessible to small- and medium-sized businesses.

“Custom solutions and low-volume solutions for plastic replacement or near shore supply are not available,” LaCasse told Maine Startups Insider. “Our process is automated, modular and has lower initial set up cost than other systems. We are using Maine pulp and Maine labor, creating skilled manufacturing and tech jobs, and leaning into the legacy knowledge of the heritage industry of wood pulp and paper, and expanding the end use for an industry still reeling from the demise of the newsprint industry.”

The company recently leased a 10,000-square-foot facility in Saco to begin operations. LaCasse said the facility is scheduled to begin turning out product by October 2022. The company currently employs five people, but LaCasse expects to add three to six additional employees by the time production begins in October.

LaCasse co-founded the company in April 2021 with her husband, Christopher LaCasse, and a business partner, Bill Kearns.

Tanbark has unique expertise in molded fiber packaging as it was spun out of LaCasse and Weston, a second generation Maine company that is an equipment supplier and consultant for companies that produce molded fiber packaging. Christopher LaCasse and Kearns own LaCasse & Weston, along with Christopher’s father, David LaCasse.

“Christopher has been turning wrenches on the machines that produce molded fiber packaging since he was 13 years old. His knowledge in the field is extensive,” Melissa said.

Before joining LaCasse and Weston, Kearns was the director of operations at the second largest producer of molded fiber packaging in the United States, and is an expert in tooling and product design.

Melissa brings to the table a background in B2B sales, business development and strategy in public radio. This is her first entrepreneurial endeavor, which she said she was driven to pursue to make a positive impact on the future.

“Climate change has been something I’ve been concerned about since I was a teenager, but the concern has intensified over the last few years, especially as I have thought about the future in which my children will live,” she said.

She continued: “A host of a program that I work with, Krista Tippett, was interviewing the naturalist and author Robert McFarland, and they spoke about this concept ‘what kind of ancestor do you want to be?’ What can we do now that will make a positive difference for people generations from now that we won’t even know. It lit a fire in me and I started wondering, how can we take this knowledge base that LaCasse & Weston has built through 30 years of working in the molded fiber industry, and innovate into making a positive impact now and for the future. It seemed to me that providing companies with an option for replacing single use plastic was a small but important piece of creating a more sustainable future.”