Q&A with Lars Bo Lauritzen
Meet Lars Bo Lauritzen, our Chief Commercial Officer at Bast Fibre Tech. In our interview, Lars talks about his excitement for our sero™ hemp fibre and the opportunities of using them in hygiene products. Furthermore, you’ll find out why Africa will always have a special place in his heart and in what other places he lived before returning to his home country Denmark after 32 years.
1. You’ve joined BFT a little more than a year ago. What is your background and what have you learned in the past year about the nonwovens industry?
Since I left Denmark the first time, I have lived in eight countries on four different continents. After working in Ghana, Gabon, and the Ivory Coast for a Danish company, I founded my own company in South Africa.
Prior to joining BFT, I lived in Virginia (US) where I established another company, implementing Danish recycling and CO2 reducing solutions for American corporations. Having seen how dysfunctional plastic recycling options generally are, I was intrigued by BFT’s mission to address the root cause by replacing plastic fibre with truly sustainable and natural bast fibres.
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to join BFT’s amazing journey prior moving back to Denmark. First stop was INDEX in 2021, where I saw the excitement within the nonwoven industry about our truly natural fibre firsthand. There’s an increasing demand to replace plastic fibres, and we have a viable alternative with our natural, compostable, and zero-plastic sero™ fibre.
2. Why do you think our sero™ premium hemp fibre is the perfect solution for sustainable hygiene products?
Hygiene products are often not recyclable. With our sero™ hemp fibre, we give hygiene brands the means to offer a more natural and compostable next-generation product, that is responding to the strong consumer demands. Additionally, hemp is a highly efficient, multipurpose crop that grows quickly in most climate zones, generates high yields with low inputs, works in rotation with existing crops and is one of nature’s most powerful carbon sequesterers. Hemp is also playing a role in the regenerative agriculture movement as it can break disease cycles, fix carbon into soil, and naturally aerate soil for future crops.
"Our sero™ fibre enables the manufacture of regenerative products."
3. Where do you see BFT and our hemp fibre in five years?
We’re in a fast-growing segment of the market that is driven by a strong consumer demand for natural products that eliminate plastic waste. This will support our growth toward becoming the world’s largest specialty bast fibre processing and purification company. With the increasing need for sustainable single-use products, there are many opportunities for us.
Our sero™ fibre meets both the technical and sustainability demands of next-generation nonwovens customers and enables the manufacture of regenerative products. I see BFT becoming a natural fibre market leader, and I’m very excited be part of this journey.
