Making Straw Into Gold

By Tom Lacock

On the surface, it would seem Jeff Foxworthy could fill an hour of Comedy Central programming with the concept of folks using old milk jugs and straw as a privacy fence. But the more you see and meet the folks at Heartland BioComposites in Torrington, the less funny a fence made from old gallons of skim sounds.

Heartland’s president and founder Heath Van Eaton has developed a process which turns recycled plastic and locally grown straw into a wood substitute, which is then turned into a picket fence. The brand name is Prairie Pickett and just months after the grand opening, business is booming. The company has hooked up with two nationwide distributors and is busy trying to keep up with the orders. A big part of the sales response has come from the northwest part of the country along with the green community as a whole.

Milk lovers are encouraged to drink all the cow juice possible in the name of the environment. Right now, Heartland orders about 40,000 pounds of plastic a week (12 jugs per picket) from milk jugs as far away as Pennsylvania and is looking for other sources. The wheat straw comes from Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska and is combined in a building partially paid for by The Wyoming Business Council’s Business Ready Community program.

In addition to the call to help the environment with fencing, the hook for most people is the fact Prairie Pickett looks like wood, but has a 30-year life expectancy and a 20-year replacement warranty, according to Ashley Harpstreith, who serves as company slash.

The typical headaches have plagued Heartland in their opening, including a couple they never anticipated. The case of “Slash” Harpstreith is an example. The title comes from the fact Ashley has so many different jobs, her current business card is a fold-out, featuring several slashes between what could be listed as traditional job titles. Currently, she serves as media relations/material orderer/personel/logistics/ and, if you talk to her on the phone, you get the impression she serves as company mom answering all those questions no one really knows who else to go to.

So let’s play a game of “Name Ashley’s title.” Winner gets a Wyoming Business Council ice scraper

Comments

[Cory]

This is natural for Ashley to take on everything she can do. Being from Alanta and raised from a good and competive family this is natural for Ashley to do everything and she does everything GOOD. This company MOM will soon be a real MOM and I know she will be good at that as well.

So what would be a good title for her??
VIP???
ye that right a very important person!!!

I know she is VIP in my life and always will be.

This was a great article and i hope the company knows what a great hire she was.