When given the opportunity to work with some of our design and construction peers to put together a design/build resource for the industry, we jumped at it. The result was “Build Your Grow,” which you can read here. However, we thought it would also be helpful to do a quick recap of the top takeaways for a quick read.
For many cultivators, future expansion is a vague plan to someday build a second facility or expand an existing facility. This is usually after some positive cash flow makes the round two investment more palatable. Still, there are other cases where expansion plans within a market are more specific and can be developed early on. For these businesses, it is possible for them to greatly reduce their capital expenditures and time to market. With that in mind, let’s discuss the variables involved in phased buildouts and expansions in commercial indoor cannabis cultivation.
In the endless quest to improve efficiencies and boost yields, multi-level cultivation environments have the obvious benefit of allowing for more production and higher yields within the same square footage. However, there are also some drawbacks. Let’s carefully consider the benefits and risks of cultivating in multiple levels prior to facility construction.
According to urbandictionary.com, if you flip something you make a profit out if it. The same could be said in our industry for the term flip. There are a several good reasons to operate your grow on a “flip.” This basically means to never run all your grow rooms on the same schedule. Why is this important? To understand this, we must understand peak energy times.
Over the last 12 months, we have traveled to several shows and conferences, rebranded the company and expanded our team –all while continuing to innovate our products and services.
Two weeks ago, the Surna team headed to Las Vegas to exhibit at the 6th annual Marijuana Business Daily Conference and Expo (MJ Biz Con). We were delighted to participate again this year as MJ Biz is always a significant show, offering new entrants and veterans of the industry alike an opportunity to learn about the latest industry developments.
Every day, the cannabis industry changes as innovators introduce amazing new ideas and products. We see this first hand both at our own company and through our customers that work every day to bring quality products to the market. These innovations take dedication which is why we are especially excited about one of our own innovators today.
This summer has been a busy one for Surna. We’ve been traveling to a lot of industry events around the country. Last month, we were in DC and Toronto and last week, we went to Oakland and New York for cannabis industry related events. Both of these events were a success for us. Not only did we get to meet more people in the industry, but we also attended some great discussions on a range of topics.
Cannabis is one of the North America’s newest and most promising industries. It is now medically legal in 29 states and recreationally legal in 8 states, with even more allowing CBD for certain medical conditions. A recent poll also shows that close to 60% of American support legalized cannabis and Canada is taking cannabis even further, introducing legislation to federally legalize the plant in 2018. All of this indicates a trend away from prohibition toward a regulated market. And yet, some are still wary of cannabis.
As cultivators and owners know, building out a commercial sized facility takes a lot of time, patience and money but can be extremely lucrative in the long run. Large-scale commercial facilities that are up and running are generating huge profits, mostly in cash. But this type of revenue takes time. To get to a place where a facility can sustain itself financially, owners first must go through the long and expensive process of licensing, permitting, obtaining land and/or buildings and, of course, choosing lighting and environmental control.