Modern Mill, the Mississippi manufacturer of the upcycled rice hull building material ACRE, which mirrors hardwood timbers, announced on Monday that ACRE will be offered factory-finished in seven stain tones developed in collaboration with coatings company PPG and cured using infrared technology.
The Signature Stain Collection — Biloxi, Amory, Walnut, ACRE Black, Laurel, Montauk Grey, and Mahogany — is designed to expedite installation, minimise weather-dependent delays, and deliver a more consistent finish for builders and installers who have adopted ACRE as an alternative to tropical hardwoods and conventional composites.
The pre-finished line ships with colour-matched Cortex plug kits, designed to conceal fasteners in a single, coordinated system. Modern Mill executives said the offering is aimed squarely at the trades: by shifting staining from the job site to a controlled factory process, projects can proceed through colder, wetter months and avoid costly rework associated with field finishing.
ACRE is produced from diverted rice hulls, an agricultural byproduct the company says it repurposes in a zero‑waste manufacturing process. Modern Mill markets the material as stainable without primer and able to accept paints and stains evenly, free of the knots, sap lines, and tannins that complicate natural timber finishing. That combination of wood-like aesthetics and low maintenance is the basis of the company’s claim that ACRE can replicate the look of exotic hardwoods, such as ipe and teak, while reducing pressure on tropical forests.
“We often hear from customers that one reason they love ACRE is the ability to stain it to match prized wood species,” said Chris Guimond, chief executive officer of Modern Mill. “With Modern Mill’s new pre‑finished ACRE options, customers can continue to enjoy the beauty of wood with even greater convenience.”
According to Modern Mill, one pallet of ACRE can save an acre of tropical rainforest compared to the use of certain exotic hardwoods, and it reports diverting thousands of tons of rice hulls from landfills in recent years. Modern Mill also cites its local economic impact, stating that the business has created more than 100 manufacturing jobs in a county with above-average poverty rates.
