Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc (KBLB)

[Eskaminagaga]

So they are using silkworm silk turning it to powder adding spider protein and spinning it.

Thanks for pointing that out, i missed it when I was skimming through it the first time. This must be how they overcame the issue with the E.coli proteins. They just mixed in some silkworm proteins and all is good.

They are under the excat restrictions KBLB is under. They need cheap labor halfway across the world...shipping, labor, third world politics, seasonal issues, weather, mulberry leaves/food etc etc

Sericulture is an already established profession in Japan and I would hardly call them a third world country. Their labor is highly paid. Also, i do not think that they grow and harvest the silkworms themselves, but they likely buy from an already established source. Looking at their complex on Google Maps, there is farmland around it, but nothing that looks remotely like mulberry. Buying from an established source in Japan as Japanese usually prefer doing would drive up the price more than buying from a Southeast Asian or African source or just producing it themselves.

There is little doubt in my mind that the Spiber/Xpiber silk will be significantly more expensive, but the fact that they are harvesting proteins means that they may have more versatile uses than the fibers alone such as films and possibly 3D printed materials made from spider silk proteins such as implants or stronger tools. You can already see this being attempted in companies such as Oxford Biomaterials Ltd. and Spiber Technologies AB. My guess is that they are going to focus on fabricating parts for automobiles and other tools or construction materials due to their association with Kojima Industries.

In 2017, they have told me that they will release their pricing information and final properties of their fibers to sell to interested parties. I just hope that MS is out before then.