New Zealand's first 100% mineral hempcrete binder
The binder that didn't exist.
When Doug Sturrock started looking into hempcrete construction in NeWhen Doug Sturrock started looking into hempcrete construction in New Zealand, the product he needed wasn't here. The binders used in France and Australia weren't designed for our climate, our supply chains, or our building culture. So he made one.w Zealand, the product he needed wasn't here. The binders used in France and Australia weren't designed for our climate, our supply chains, or our building culture. So he made one.
How it started
`It was 2020, COVID lockdown, and Doug had time to think. He'd been building in Northland for nearly two decades — licensed builder, director of Rockstead Construction, someone who'd worked on historic buildings in Scotland and residential projects in France before settling in Kerikeri. He knew hempcrete worked. He just couldn't get a good binder here.
He pitched the idea to Northland Inc, then to Callaghan Innovation. They saw something worth backing. What followed was four years of R&D with Dr Vineet Shah — lab testing, reformulation, more testing — until they had a mineral binder that didn't just match the imported alternatives. It beat them. Four times the compressive strength. Faster set. Safer for installers.`
The science behind it
`Geobind is a magnesium oxide based mineral binder — 100% New Zealand made, manufactured in Auckland. MgO comes from dolomite, the same geological family as limestone, just further along the natural process. The result is a binder that performs better than lime on every metric we've tested, and is far less caustic to work with.
The formulation is covered by a provisional patent. Callaghan Innovation testing confirmed the results. The Concrete NZ 2023 paper by Sturrock and Shah laid out the data publicly. The Falkiner thesis at Auckland University tested Geobind as a shear wall sheathing. The product stands up to scrutiny.`
Where we are now
`Geobind is available to order now across New Zealand. We're working toward CodeMark certification — the pathway that opens the Australian market. Panels, blocks, and prefab systems are in active development.
We won the Top Energy Business Innovation and Sustainability Award. We're backed by Northland Inc and supported through Callaghan Innovation. And we're just getting started.`
