CBD plant planned for Redvers
September 25, 2018, 1:48 am
Kevin Weedmark
A CBD plant to extract Cannabidiol from hemp plants is planned for Redvers, giving some farmers in southeast Saskatchewan another crop option.
Cannabidiol is a pharmaceutical oil produced from hemp plants. It is currently legal only by prescription in Canada.
The Redvers plant could create employment for 50-60 people directly and indirectly.
Travis George of Calgary-based Endless Sky said there are a number of reasons Redvers was selected for the plant.
“Marc Dumaine was a Redvers boy and he moved to Alberta,” George explained. “When he first came back to Redvers he capitalized on the oil industry and he created a welding shop there, MagnaFlow and MagnaFab—these were fabrication and welding oilfield related businesses. I don’t think I have to tell you what happened to the oilfield, so he had a building there.
“He met Cory and myself with Endless Sky through one of our first cannabis ventures,” he said. “We were always going to do a hemp play as part of Endless Sky.”
Why Redvers?
“We picked Redvers for several reasons—we have access to an international border there, it’s also quite close to Manitoba,” he said.
“Crops grow extremely well there, and we knew from talking to Marc that people there were hard working, creative, open to new ideas, and ready for something else to come. There were many different small things that made it extremely attractive to us.
“The facility itself is 13,600 square feet. It will be a pharmaceutical grade facility.
“We have many farmer partners signed up. Some of the farmers have invested in the company, which is a good situation—we’re partners.”
George says the plant is definitely a go. “We’re going,” he said. “I’m sitting here today with engineers, with process engineers. We are coming to Redvers. That’s the one thing I’m telling you.
“This is something that has to be engineered from the ground up, but we’re going to be using existing equipment that is already in the market.
“We’re a project development firm, and a cannabis and hemp investment firm.
“We’re looking at every market. We’re going to export internationally, but we’re going to focus on Canada and grow our brand first, and then we’ll look to international markets.
“What markets will we access? We’ll try to reach all of them—health and wellness of animals, health and wellness of people.”
He said the company has had a warm welcome from Redvers.
“We’ve been welcomed with open arms to the community,” he said. “We’ve been well received. And the feeling is mutual—we’re excited to come.
“I think the biggest questions people had were about the growing of the hemp and the machinery to take the hemp off, the soil needs, the nutrient needs.
Endless Sky has a meeting coming up in October 3 to answer any questions about their project.
“I think right now, they’re wondering if we’re coming for sure,” says George. “We are, and we’re going to let them know that. We’ve been fundraising for a little while now and plans are being put in place.”
