The 51,000 square foot automated edibles manufacturing centre is designed to be one of the most technologically-advanced and efficient cannabis facilities in Canada
AgraFlora Organics International Inc () (OTCPINK:AGFAF) announced Friday that its subsidiary The Edibles and Infusions Corporation (EIC) has completed construction on its Winnipeg manufacturing facility, clearing a path towards cannabis production.
The company said it plans to submit a processing license application to Health Canada before the end of the month.
The 51,000 square foot automated edibles manufacturing centre is designed to be one of the most technologically-advanced and efficient cannabis facilities in Canada, according to EIC’s operational manager James Fletcher.
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“Rather than trying to scale up practices developed in unlicensed establishments, we have built a facility which can produce cannabis edibles using world-class food manufacturing processes,” Fletcher said in a statement. “As a result, we will be able to provide our clients with the highest level of service and support as we work together to build lasting and valuable brands nationwide.”
Fletcher noted that the team has almost one hundred years of knowledge and experience in private label confectionery manufacturing, combined with guidance from multiple legal Canadian cannabis firms.
EIC’s equipment uses specialized technology that provides specific dosing levels that meet regulatory requirements and customer specifications.
Once in operation, EIC plans to produce over 250,000 pieces of finely-dosed edibles per eight-hour shift at the plant. If required, the facility can be opened for continuous 24/7 production using only 30 staff at full operation thanks to the high level of automation in the plant’s design.
The facility is designed to be flexible when it comes to future production of things like chocolates and drinks, and can scale up to 1 million pieces of precisely-dosed edibles per shift with additional manufacturing lines.
Cannabis gummies 'most attractive product category'
Edibles such as gummies are the most attractive cannabis 2.0 product category to Vancouver-based AgraFlora, CEO Brandon Boddy told investors.
“EIC positions AgraFlora to be a leader in cannabis gummies,” Boddy said in Friday's statement. “To date, the gummy category has not been fully supplied as companies have struggled to scale up manufacturing. We chose our management team based on their experience and our expectation of being able to scale quickly post-license to meet the needs of Canadian consumers and brands.”
Boddy pointed out that the firm’s timing to come to market in 2020 is “perfect” as brands will be able to enter the edibles space using EIC as a partner without the capital expense or time involved with scaling up in-house manufacturing capacity.
EIC also holds a research and development license that allows it to develop commercial relationships and be ready to scale revenue quickly once it obtains its processing license.
The firm estimates that once EIC receives its license, the first revenue delivery should be in 4Q 2020.
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