Category: design-build
The Essential Staff of a Cultivation Facility
At the conclusion of many a cannabis customer’s journey is consumption of the product. Whether that method is smoking, vaping, ingesting, or topically applying the product, how it arrived on or in your person traces back to the cultivation facility where it was farmed, grown, and groomed. Dispensary shelves and display cases are bedecked with flowers, oils, extracts, shatter, edibles, and more, but none of that exists without cultivation. Canna-business is the fastest growing sector in the country due in large part to the essential staff of cultivation facilities.
Master Grower and Junior Grower
A successful cultivation operation starts at the top with the master grower, whose credentials include backgrounds in horticulture or agriculture and often advanced degrees. Also known as director of cultivation, this person is not only responsible for overseeing the cultivation of all cannabis plants, but managing the entire operation of the facility. They are in charge of all grow house employees and must routinely ensure that the facility is in step with regulations. It may not stop there.
As CNBC reported, “At larger operations, cultivation directors have management responsibility for a team of growers, and the position typically requires frequent interaction with law enforcement to ensure compliance.”
A junior grower or a master grower-in-training, works directly under the tutelage of the master grower. This person is primarily responsible for successfully growing the plants. Duties include planting, cloning, feeding, and proper watering.
Trimmers and Technicians
They call it a plant-touching niche for a reason. Trimmers have direct contact with cannabis plants, and their job is to prune and manicure the plants during harvest season without harming them. Trimmers are tasked with understanding the plant anatomy and the difference between strains. The job requires physical endurance and concentration. “Bud trimmer is an excellent entry-level job,” writes James Yagielo of Hemp Staff. “It’s a great way to break into a marijuana cultivation career with plenty of room for upward mobility.”
Similar to trimmers, cultivation technicians handle pruning duties, but they are more focused on the fulfillment of growing cannabis, including germination, cloning, and transplantation. Quality Control Inspector QC Inspectors ensure that cannabis products comply with health, safety, and potency standards. Many in the field are PhD’s in biology, agronomy, chemistry, or entomology and often
help inspect and enforce marijuana cultivation laws and regulations, as well as those that apply to the use of pesticides.
Director of Extraction
The function of processing or converting the raw materials of cannabis into usable forms, may take place under the same roof as cultivation, especially with companies that practice vertical integration. Extraction falls under the processing umbrella and is the method for turning cannabis buds into oils and concentrates for vaping. The Director of Extraction typically has a solid background in pharmacology or chemistry and designs and runs processing, including laboratory functions and the management of extraction staff.
Conclusion
Cannabis employment increased nearly 700 percent between 2017 and 2018 and is projected to grow another 220 percent in 2019. Legal cannabis was a $9 billion industry in the United States last year and will balloon to $21 billion per year by 2021. Cultivation is where everything begins thanks to staff with the unique skill set to make it happen.
Cannabis Facility Construction Setting the Industry Standard
With the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, Cannabis Facility Construction, Northbrook, Illinois, recognized the potential to establish a new standard in full-service facility construction of cultivation facilities, processing centers, and dispensaries. Leveraging its extensive Design-Build experience within this emerging industry, Cannabis Facility Construction has 27 cannabis facilities successfully completed and in development covering more than 286,970 square feet of usable space in multiple states.
We understand the complex issues facing cannabis business owners and investors. Our experience in the industry, combined with over 25 years of Design-Build commercial construction expertise uniquely qualifies us to help manage the challenges inherent in cannabis facility construction. We bring it all together by creating the facility that exactly meets our clients’ business needs,” according to Cannabis Facility Construction principals, Andy Poticha, Ira Singer and Mike Frazin.
In particular, Cannabis Facility Construction recognizes that there is an art and a science to converting raw materials of cannabis and finished products. Its processing centers are outfitted to master the product in all its forms and uses, and to meet all state regulations and local fire and safety codes. Its four-stage approach encompasses its Design-Build expertise for processing facilities; construction management; security infrastructure and planning; and permitting and compliance support.
Cannabis industry investors and owners recognize that they must select the right contractor who can help them best achieve their goals. Cannabis Facility Construction understands the entire process of consulting, constructing and transforming a property so that projects are delivered on time, within the budget and with minimal disruption in business operations.
“We are a company that cares about its clients and its trade partners. We understand the importance of helping others. By partnering with a multitude of organizations, we have achieved real success. Having a “Pay it Forward” mindset provides us the opportunity to find ways to make a difference through the giving of our time, resources, and financial contributions. Our diverse relationships extend to local non-profit organizations, community groups, Midwest-based charities, and national and worldwide organizations. We make the world better when we lead by example,” notes Mike Frazin.