Modern Mill evolves its composite ACRE into new construction applications

Developed in 2020 during the COVID pandemic and introduced to the market soon after, Modern Mill’s ACRE is proving to be a versatile construction material that can replace cedar, hardwoods and old-growth woods in residential and commercial building and construction applications like siding, decking, trim, window boxes, outdoor furniture and more.

ACRE is made from 50% upcycled rice hulls by volume mixed with a clean rigid PVC resin. The product is processed via extrusion to produce profiles up to 1 inch thick, up to 4 feet wide and up to 20 feet long. Each board has a skin that is created post-extrusion. This skin can be embossed or engrained to create woodgrain patterns and can also be stained or painted to approximate a variety of wood colors.

Most importantly, ACRE cuts and feels like wood, thus it is a drop-in replacement for wood used in trim and finish applications. Further, ACRE is water resistant, rot proof, and can be cut via CNC.

JEC Composites caught up with Chandler Delinks, sales director at Modern Mill, to learn how ACRE is being received by the construction community and how the product is likely to evolve to meet more building and construction applications. Delinks says the versatility of ACRE combined with its durability and affordability compared to tropical hardwoods, has made it an attractive option in many nonstructural applications – particularly those where use of threatened or rare hardwoods is prohibitively expensive.

“In the last few years, cedar has become less available,” Delinks says. “Especially vertical grain cedar. There have been allocations. Prices went up 40% to 50% higher than the price of ACRE and you could only get it in lengths of 5, 6 or 7 feet. So, we have begun to address this need as hardwoods become less available and more expensive.”

Why the construction industry is taking notice

On top of that, Chadler Delinks says, ACRE offers cutting and handling benefits that the construction market is just starting to discover — especially contractors using fiber cement, fly ash products or PVC sheet goods. “We have something that looks like wood, feels like wood, cuts like wood, has less static, doesn’t have the sharp edges, doesn’t wear and tear tools and doesn’t create harmful dust,” Delinks says. “We have customers saying, ‘I can use the same saw blade, I don’t have to wear a mask, it’s not as floppy as PVC and I’m not covered in white dust all day.”

Delinks also explains why rice hulls are the chosen reinforcement in the ACRE product. The reasons are several but primarily revolve around two factors: Rice hulls are ubiquitous and thus inexpensive, and they provide the same protections to ACRE that they provide to rice. “The rice husk does for ACRE what it does in nature,” Delinks says. “It protects the rice grain from moisture, sunlight, mold and mildew. We sometimes say that rice hulls nature’s discarded Kevlar. In this way, rice hulls are perfect for use as an exterior building material.”

Looking to the future, Delinks says Modern Mill will target applications and distribution channels that have been out of reach. Specifically, he notes that although ACRE is offered unfinished with a stain or paint, the company has started offering ACRE in factory finished options to relieve on-site staining and help extend the building season into colder months.

“We started with third party pre-finishers and then the demand continued to rise. That’s when we brought in-house,” Delinks says. “We just launched a factory finish, which is getting good customer feedback. And we now have seven signature stains that we’re providing with a five-year warranty.”

While ACRE can be used in a variety of facades, the product is not suitable for structural applications. Delinks says Modern Mill in the long term is evaluating material technologies that would improve stiffness and give ACRE wider access to more construction uses. That said, Delinks notes that ACRE still has a lot of opportunity to seize in the wood replacement market, where increasing costs, supply chain challenges, and price volatility make drop-in replacements highly attractive. In-house stain options, beveling, shake products, and other building profiles are on the horizon.

“At the end of the day,” he says, “we will be here to provide a real sustainable alternative to wood. That wood market is where we see real opportunity. With the benefit of these composite materials, combined with our manufacturing process, ACRE looks like wood but has the lifespan of a composite. It’s always been our North Star.”

Photos: Modern Mill