PEORIA MAGAZINE September 2023

Steve Zika, president of Natural Fiber Welding, sits among some of his company's products

F or Natural Fiber Welding, export ing has never been a question of “if” but “when.” That future is now, as NFW — which creates sustainable, plant-based textiles intended to replace leather and plastics — is the Turner Center’s New Exporter of the Year. “From early on, NFW recognized that exports would one day eclipse their U.S. sales,” Turner stated in its justification for the award. “Its customer base is dominated by multinationals and global players in the textile, automotive and apparel industries. Moreover, the need to address dependence on petroleum based, man-made materials is a challenge that will necessitate NFW becoming increasingly involved in the global value chain and international commerce.” Indeed, the surge in exports has NFW making plans to launch manufacturing hubs overseas in order to be closer to customers that make shoes, wallets, purses and other goods. “We are working with global fashion partners,” said Steve Zika, company president. That development is no threat to Peo ria, he said: The company intends to keep its headquarters and R&D here. Plus, ‘THERE’S MONEY IN DOING GOOD’

local manufacturing would be main tained and perhaps increased, he said. “As we grow, we hope to have as much manufacturing, as practical, in Peoria,” Zika said. That’s good news to local marketing cheerleaders such as Chris Setti, CEO of the Greater Peoria Economic Devel opment Council. Setti often touts NFW as a cutting-edge manufacturer with a bright future and social conscience. “I think they embody what can be the best about American capitalism and American ingenuity,” Setti said. “They’re very conscious of the impact they’re having. “There’s money in doing good.” THE AH-HAH MOMENT NFW was founded in 2015 by CEO Luke Haverhals, a Bradley University chemistry professor who previously had conducted research for the U.S. Naval Academy. In Annapolis, Maryland, he had an ah-hah moment when he found a way to weld natural fibers together to make composite materials that, in terms of durability and performance, could rival leather as well as synthet ics such as polyester. Unlike the latter, Haverhal’s breakthrough materials are plant-based and eco-friendly. By 2017, while based at the business incubator Peoria NEXT, 801 W. Main St., NFW had grown to a dozen employees.

It expanded further, basing operations at 6533 N. Galena Road, then added more offices at 401 SW Water St. and manu facturing space at 801 SW Jefferson St. In 2022, NFW received $85 million in series B funding from investors that included Ralph Lauren and BMW. That same year, Haverhals and Chief Technology Officer Aaron Amstutz won the prestigious Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation’s Inventor of the Year award. The organization lauded them for “creating technologies that unearth nature’s potential” and for inventing “categorically new material families that are naturally low carbon and completely circular” — in other words, good for the environment. Thanks to that technology, NFW has created four core materials: Clarus, Pliant, Tunera and Mirum. The latter, especially for high-end sneakers, has prompted attention from the textile industry, as well as news media. FLYING HIGH Late last year, the trendy shoe brand Allbirds, which boasts of its commitment to sustainability, launched a new line of Miren-based footwear called Pacers. Allbirds co-founder Joey Zwillinger told CBS News, “We scoured the earth for the best alternative (material) we could find.” With that, the network panned to a shot of the Peoria skyline before launching into a tour of NFW.

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