DAYTON, Washington (From the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) -- Mark Lewis' vision for a research and development complex on Wagon Road is one step closer to reality with the purchase of site last week for the operation.

The 3.2 acres formerly occupied by Columbia Cutstock will soon be home to Innovatio, an ag-residue innovation center, Lewis said. The complex is closely associated with Columbia Pulp, the 449-acre wheat and alfalfa straw pulp mill planned for construction later this spring near Starbuck.

Lewis is one of the people spearheading that multi-million-dollar project. His background as former manager of the University of Washington's paper science and engineering department led him to Columbia County and his desire to find a sustainable use for the hundreds of thousands of tons of straw left after grain harvest on farms locally every year.

At Innovatio, Lewis' experiments into ag-residue technology will continue. The name Innovatio, a Latin word for "renewal," helps tell the story of what will take place here.

Phoenix Pulp and Polymer, another company with which Lewis is affiliated, is one organization that will operate from the new complex.

Phoenix is the development arm of the team, Lewis said, and works with companies all over the world to explore the use of non-wood fiber pulp and its byproducts to make everything from paper and molded products like disposable plates.

Mineral residue from pulping can also be used by farmers who put it back into the soil as nutrients.

Sustainable Fiber Technologies, where Lewis is chief technology officer, does the research work, using a lab owned by Phoenix. This lab, already operating in leased facilities at the Seneca Foods complex in Dayton, will move to Wagon Road in the next few months, he said.

Eventually, Lewis hopes companies that want to specialize in manufacturing products made from non-wood fiber pulp will co-locate with his lab and mini-pulp mill on the Innovatio site.

One such organization has already promised to join the complex, Lewis said. Details won't be revealed until plans are final, but the company will make fiber-molded products like disposable plates that are compostable and recyclable to replace the out-of-favor Styrofoam variety, according to Lewis.

The 140,000 tons of pulp eventually expected to be produced annually at Columbia Pulp will contribute to the fabrication of these fiber-molded products and other goods.

The large mill is expected to bring 150 or more jobs to Columbia County.