The cannabis market is extremely competitive, with more growers coming online as countries are increasingly regulating the production. However, before a grower hits the market, they need to set up their cultivation facility. Needless to say, this is a fairly time-consuming endeavor.
Constructing a cannabis facility
It is then quite critical to be sure that a cultivation facility is set up and ready in a timely fashion, if not only to beat the competition to it. Canam Buildings is a construction company specialized in Engineering, manufacturing, and erecting structural steel buildings for various industries. “We have a design-build approach,” says Michael Leblanc, Business Development Manager at Canam Buildings. “We expedite the entire process, from design to procurement to erection. We often manufacture the building components while the other aspects of the building are still being designed, thereby expediting the overall construction process .”
The Canam Group started in the structural steel building components in 1961, and now brings over 60 years of experience to their customers. “Generally speaking, a cannabis cultivation facility, from the perspective of the building structure, is often not much different than your typical warehouse or process facility,” he explains. “There are some things to keep in mind though, such as the humidity level, but also the cultivation method of the grower. Simply put, while the building might be similar to many others we have completed there are some cannabis-specific factors that must be considered.”
Speed of execution
One of these cannabis-specific factors is, indeed, the speed of execution. “When the industry started booming, speed was one of the most important aspects to our clients. Growers needed to hit the market as soon as possible, and thus they wanted the building to be ready right away; this is, in fact, Canam’s specialty.”
Michael further explains that Canam performs the design, manufacturing and erection in-house. “One of our key strengths is the fact that we are both the engineers and manufacturers,” he says. “This means that the execution phase is very efficient and problem-free. We have also implemented specific delivery and installation processes that speed up the construction and increase safety, such as presorting materials and delivering in the order of construction. Further to this, we have a pre-manufactured panelized building solution called Murox which can cut the installation time in half compared to a typical project.
Executing the grower's idea
Of course, everything starts from what the grower wants and how they plan to grow their cannabis. “Once a grower has made their decision on the type of building they require, we begin the design process right away. Some designs will have multiple rooms/partitions in the event the client wants to grow different strains, or protect against widespread crop problems. There are also clients who choose to grow in smaller, individual structures/pods, almost like modular grow rooms. Such a setup would not be that of a large building; yet, it can be ready in a relatively short time.”
“A larger facility will often take longer to build compared to the smaller modular approach, however, once complete, a grower would have a significantly larger capacity from the get-go.”
The cultivation methodology also factors in the construction and the selection of materials. “The methods of growing do have some effects on the structure,” he explains. “If it’s a hybrid/greenhouse scenario, for instance, there could be transparent roof systems or wall systems. If it is strictly indoor lighted cultivation, however, the method of growth doesn’t really affect the structure, or the time necessary to complete the project. We know how to deliver a quality structure made to last and poised to grant success to growers.”
For more information:
Canam Buildings
1-866-466-8769
canam-construction.com