The University of Tennessee Research Foundation is proud to support companies leveraging assets from the University of Tennessee and the East Tennessee ecosystem to expand their operations and thrive. One of these companies, Genera, is a biomass supply chain solutions company that aims to bridge the gap between the value of agriculture in the field and sustainable products that consumers want and need.
The company began operations in 2012 with a mission to develop supply chains to source large quantities of agricultural biomass from local farms. Building on their success supplying biomass feedstocks for others, they became their own customer in 2019 when they vertically integrated fiber sourcing and supply with manufacturing ag-based pulp and molded fiber products. Genera, which leases its manufacturing facility from UTRF’s subsidiary TennEra, works with farmers to source locally grown switchgrass and other crops to produce its Earthable molded fiber products – durable, compostable, sustainable packaging products for a variety of food service, specialty and consumer packaging applications.
Chief Executive Officer Kelly Tiller has worked with the UTRF team for more than 15 years. As an academic-turned-entrepreneur, she understands how difficult it can be to make the transition from discovery to commercialization. UTRF was a valuable resource for her during her entrepreneurial journey.
UTRF has a lot of great resources to help entrepreneurs and faculty with great ideas,” said Tiller. “Spinning out a company is very intensive in a lot of ways – certainly intensive on your time, but starting out, you often don’t see your blind spots. UTRF offers a wide range of resources to help with difficult challenges that crop up along the way.”
Tiller sees Genera as a driver and catalyst for strong rural communities in the years to come. She also believes the company has only scratched the surface of potential applications and markets.
We have the whole story: It’s a stable and additive source of revenue for the farmers, it brings good and diverse jobs to the rural community, and the products are a better alternative to existing ones on the market,” said Tiller. “Genera has so much opportunity to grow beyond where we’re at today. We’re focused on the food service and packaging sector and using agricultural fiber to produce pulp and molded fiber products today, but there is no limit to what other value we can derive from that same agricultural fiber.”
Earlier this year, Ara Partners, a private equity firm, announced its commitment of up to $200 million to support Genera’s expansion. As part of this transaction, Genera acquired MxG Fiber to scale its operations and expand its innovative decarbonization methods using regenerative, sustainable agriculture.
Genera reached a point where we had tremendous growth opportunities in front of us, but the path required a lot of capital,” said Tiller. “We were very fortunate to partner with Ara and receive a significant commitment of capital. But scaling requires more than just more capital. It means growing the organization, building the culture, and putting processes and systems in place that support rapid growth.”
In response to these latest developments, the Innov865 Alliance, a group that develops, supports, and promotes the Knoxville region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, recognized Genera’s progress at the organization’s annual Startup Day celebration on September 20. The Traction Award highlights an entrepreneur who has had significant progress in their industry and community.
It is a tremendous honor and certainly one that recognizes a lot of perseverance over several years,” said Tiller. “I feel very fortunate to still be able to pursue this passion. Having this recognition – particularly when there are so many others in our community that are also deserving – is a very special honor.”
As a founding member of the Alliance, UTRF was proud to see a university-affiliated company receive the Traction Award. “It’s been incredible to watch Genera’s trajectory,” said UTRF President Stacey Patterson. “Like so many other startups, they faced challenges along the way. But thanks to the brilliant leadership of Dr. Kelly Tiller, they were able to persevere and grow into the multi-million-dollar enterprise they are today. They are truly deserving of the Innov865 Alliance’s Traction Award.”