Tranlin Inc. announced recently it has awarded a contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. to design the site work for possibly the largest business in Chesterfield. The award was issued to further develop VASTLY’s (Shandong Tranlin Paper Co. Ltd.) greenfield construction mega-project in Chesterfield County.
Some local weekly-news outlets recently called the Tranlin project dead.
The $2 billion project, according to Chesterfield Economic Development, is not dead 
but is in the engineering phase, which includes preliminary engineering and design, as well as environmental permitting, of the new VASTLY facility. The plant will produce biostimulant, soil amendment fertilizers, and paper tissue products, made from straw sourced from local farmers.
Tranlin developed an innovative technology to make paper using residual agricultural material, such as corn and grain byproducts normally left in farm fields after harvest. Tranlin’s source of materials will not include trees or other wood pulp products. The process will allow for preservation of farmland and further economic return. The harvest of straw in the spring and corn stalks in the fall for use by Tranlin will offer two new cash crops for Virginia producers, since straw and corn stalks were previously considered waste and not a revenue stream, Jerry Zhiyuan Peng, Darden alumnus and chair and CEO of Tranlin.
In order to build the multi-faceted, advanced manufacturing facilities in Chesterfield, VASTLY will leverage technology developed by its parent company, Shandong Tranlin Paper Company Ltd., to implement proprietary straw pulping processes for extracting fulvic acid and humic acid biostimulants used to restore soil health.
The site is the former home of several cement companies such as Tarmac and Southern Materials. The property is an amalgamation of a number of properties totaling 850 acres along the James River, near Willis Road. The plant is expected to employ about 2,000 people within the next four years.
Farmers will also benefit and increase the general economy. Farmers will supply Tranlin excess wheat straw and cornstalks for the paper plant to make tissue paper and tableware.
Peng said, “This new award marks a major milestone for the project and it highlights our commitment to building a world-class, eco-friendly production facility in Chesterfield County.”
