VONORE, Tenn. — A one-of-a-kind company that creates eco-friendly packaging is investing $350 million and creating 230 jobs in Vonore, according to a press release.
Genera creates compostable packaging using two types of grass. It's headquartered in the town of 1,700 people in Monroe County.
"We're very highly automated so we'll need some high-skilled jobs," said Ben Mascarello, Genera's CEO.
Mascarello said Genera creates compostable food takeout containers, burrito bowl containers, plates and even toilet paper. He said they're working on meat packaging to replace the styrofoam that's sold in grocery stores.
"All of which are an improvement over a lot of the petroleum-based products that we use today," said Kelly Tiller, Genera's founder and Chief Strategy Officer.
Mascarello said most of the compostable packaging products are currently made in China.
"Some of that has to do with bamboo and the availability of certain materials, which we've solved with these regenerative grasses," Mascarello said. "Some of it has to do with the fact that it's a high labor production process. So we've partnered with some equipment manufacturers."
The company works with local farmers to grow two types of grass: switchgrass and miscanthus, according to Brad Valentine, the company's feedstock manager. Those grasses have roots that go deeper into the ground, he said.
"They're able to mine nutrients, mine moisture from those areas that traditional crops are not," Valentine said.
He said 20 farmers in East Tennessee help supply Genera's operation.
When farmers harvest switchgrass and miscanthus, Valentine said they keep their mowers 6-8 inches above the surface, so the fields are never barren. He said they wait until the grass is dry for the season.
"We'd like the plant to be dry so we can bail immediately after mowing," Valentine said.
Tiller worked as an agricultural and resource economist at the University of Tennessee before Genera's creation in 2009.