Xebra Brands has completed construction and equipment outfitting of its indoor cannabis growing facility, located approximately 100 km east of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. Progress on commissioning the facility has been swift, with high hygiene standards and standard operating procedures (SOPs) already implemented.
Rodrigo Gallardo, President of Xebra, commented: "We are encouraged to have our facility completed ahead of schedule. Cannabis varieties with the specific THC and CBD ratios will arrive at the facility imminently".
"The 2,000 ft2 (185 m2) facility is purpose-built for medicinal cannabis cultivation trials, and provides for efficient scalability up to 100,000 ft2 (9,300 m2)." The facility features four smart automated cells; three for production, and one for propagation, with new equipment including computer-controlled HVAC for heating, cooling, humidification, and dehumidification. In addition, irrigation in each cell is also computer-controlled.
On July 2, 2021, Xebra received a preliminary cannabis license from the Dutch Ministry of Health, which provides for the possession, cultivation, processing, and transportation of cannabis.
As 1 of only 5 companies to be selected by the Dutch government to participate in trial medicinal cannabis cultivation, Xebra is endeavoring to be awarded 1 of 2 licenses, with a contract for up to 6 years, providing for revenues of up to €70.5 million, to co-supply all pharma-grade cannabis to be sold in the Netherlands. Additional crops can also be grown for export to other European countries. Not including export crops, the contract would provide for annual volumes of 5,000 kg of cannabis flower to be sold to the Dutch government, at a fixed price of €2,350/kg under an initial four-year term, with an optional two-year extension for each of the two successful companies, and would be guaranteed by the Dutch government. The final two license holders will be selected based on the strength of their business plans, and on the product quality and consistency of three trial crops.
With only 2,000 ft2 ready for cultivation, the company most likely plans to use this space for R&D while waiting for the final cultivation permit, which will probably be utilized for the rest of the facility to scale up.
Xebra has assembled an experienced team in Holland, led by Harry van Duijne, formerly of Bedrocan, where he was responsible for managing every aspect of operations of a cannabis facility, from construction through cultivation and processing, quality management, and GMP certification. At present, Bedrocan is and has been the only licensed producer in the Netherlands for more than a decade.
For more information:
Xebra Brands
xebrabrands.com