Privately owned cellulose insulation manufacturer Applegate Insulation has expanded with the purchase of a factory in Penrose, Colo. The company has been manufacturing cellulose insulation since 1978, with seven facilities in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and now Colorado.

The company has said it has paid out millions to communities, such as churches, schools and Boy Scouts for newspapers they have generated in fund-raising paper drives and recycling projects. Applegate makes recycling profitable: by removing paper out of the waste stream, reducing dependence on landfills; by saving heating and cooling costs, minimizing home energy consumption and thus lessening dependence on foreign oil and, by paying non-profit groups for their recycling of papers, enabling them to fund their worth-while projects within a context of environmental stewardship.

“It’s because the Applegate team does have hope in things unseen that we are expanding our scope of operations even while our competitors are shrinking theirs,” said Aaron Applegate, founder of Applegate Insulation. “We are not blind, we understand how tough things are, but we would rather prepare for the future resurgence in housing than sit around and lick our wounds. I believe that some of the best times in new construction are still to come. And with the Colorado plant we are in a better position to serve our western customers when those good times come around again.”