SPRING HOPE, NC, Feb. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK:HEMP), a global leader in the industrial hemp industry with bi-coastal processing centers including the 85,000 square-foot multipurpose industrial hemp processing facility in Spring Hope, North Carolina, updates its shareholders on the company’s seven divisions that are helping to build the industrial hemp industry’s infrastructure. Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc. and true visionary, reminds shareholders that it’s not just about building a company… it’s about creating the foundation for an entire industry, first.
For the past few years, Hemp, Inc. has grown and evolved with the industrial hemp industry, giving it unique insight into the pain points faced by small family farms and other companies in the industry. "We know how vital it is to take the time to build the infrastructure to support such a high demand and we've invested heavily in the expertise and experience to make this happen. This is just the start," said Perlowin.
So far, there are seven divisions:
Division One – The Industrial Hemp Infrastructure
The Industrial Hemp Infrastructure (Division One) currently consists of two hemp processing facilities across the country, with a third under development, which will include an in-house third party testing laboratory. The largest of the two is its multi-purpose industrial hemp processing facility and milling operation in Spring Hope, North Carolina. It’s the largest “industrial hemp processing center†in the western hemisphere and has grown to become the pre-eminent center of the industrial hemp industry. The 85,000 square foot facility sits on a 9-acre campus. It is environmentally sustainable and was built from the ground up in hopes of “Making America Hemp Again." With a patent pending manufacturing process, the North Carolina facility is operating full time to process millions of pounds of our unique kenaf, hemp blend, to manufacture all green natural loss circulation materials (LCMs) that are to be sold to the oil and gas drilling industry, along with an all green natural oil spill absorbent, a second industrial hemp/kenaf product called Spill-Be-Gone.
(To see a one-minute video of the millions of pounds of kenaf, go to Bruce Perlowin's personal Facebook page, September 7th, 11th, 13th, 20th and 22nd, 2018.)
In addition to the company’s industrial hemp processing facility in Spring Hope, North Carolina, Hemp, Inc. also has one the most sophisticated local processing centers (LPC) in Medford, Oregon which focuses on hemp flower drying, curing, and post processing for the CBD industry.
Hemp, Inc. also has 4,500 acres of land in Golden Valley, Arizona. Out of the 4,500 acres of land, 500 acres have currently been designated for the Veteran Village Kins Community (VVKC). Hemp, Inc. is actively building out 300 of those 500 acres for hemp cultivation. The company aims to boost the economies of these towns by offering affordable hemp processing services, which incentivizes local growers to add hemp to their crop rotation. The company is continuing to scout new locations for local processing centers in Florida, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and several other states.
Thus far, Hemp, Inc.’s Local Processing Center (LPC) in Oregon has created over 200 seasonal jobs as well as many year-round jobs.
Division Two – The Hemp Farming Infrastructure
The Hemp Farming Infrastructure (Division Two) consists of hundreds of acres of hemp and kenaf growing in multiple locations, farm equipment, cloning rooms, clones and seeds, grow rooms, greenhouses, hemp drying facilities and a huge amount of peripheral farming tools and equipment. (Some of this farming infrastructure can be seen on Bruce Perlowin's personal Facebook page in some of his older posts from Sept. 8th, Aug. 30th, 19th, 15th - 11th, 9th and 4th, July 31st, 29th, 21st - 16th, 2018.)
Hemp, Inc. also has a model “Small Family Farm†in North Carolina situated on 12 acres that consists of a cloning room, a greenhouse, and enough land to grow 2,000-3,000 high CBD hemp plants. (This model farm can be seen on Bruce Perlowin's Facebook page, in the Aug. 22nd - 26th, 2018 posts.) By showing farmers how to grow high CBD hemp plants, operate a greenhouse and turn a barn into a cloning room to earn $500,000 a year, the “Small Family Farm†can reappear on the American landscape. After all, the original small family farms in America were able to survive economically by growing hemp as their main cash crop and the first 5 presidents of the United States were all hemp farmers.
According to Perlowin, the company is preparing to grow on 500 plus acres of land in Oregon, 300 acres in Arizona (maybe more), hundreds of acres in NC (combination of hemp and kenaf), and an undetermined amount in Puerto Rico. He says collective sales from all these grows will be extremely significant in terms of pre-rolls, high CBD buds, distillate, isolate and biomass. “By 2020, we anticipate the main function of the company will be sales and marketing as we will have completed the infrastructure to support that sales and marketing. Right now, I believe we have the largest footprint with vertical integration in the hemp industry in America today. We are always looking for joint ventures where we have or can expand our footprint,†commented Perlowin.
Moreover, “A to Z†services for the farmers are available - from harvesting to drying, bagging, curing, storing, nitrogen sparging, machine trimming, hand trimming, and selling, creating a “one stop shop†for the small to large family farms. And with the soon-to-be addition of our third party, on-site testing labs from Digipath Labs, local farmers can do their testing, processing and selling in the same place. Digipath brings their proprietary ISO-17025:2017 accredited standard operating procedures and testing protocols, to establish, maintain, and operate each lab.
Digipath will bring state-of-the-art equipment, lab expertise, proprietary operating procedures and management to Hemp, Inc.’s rapidly growing locations to ensure the highest quality of goods before entering the marketplace. They will provide all necessary laboratory-expertise and related management services to develop and operate each Lab, including purchasing and maintenance of the laboratory instrumentation, as well as hiring and comprehensive training of lab personnel.
Without an in-house, third-party testing laboratory, products in need of testing would need to be transported off site, which could mean waiting days or even weeks for results. The addition of Digipath at Hemp, Inc.’s production centers will expedite testing processes and further support new business developments.
Division Three – The Hemp CBD Extraction Infrastructure
The Hemp CBD Oil Extraction Infrastructure (Division Three) originally consisted of a Supercritical C02 Extractor. After operating for over a year it has been determined that Hemp, Inc. will be upgrading to a much larger and advanced alcohol extraction process. These large-scale extractors are expected to be placed in all additional processing arenas, thus completing this part of building the industrial hemp infrastructure.
Division Four – The Hemp Educational Infrastructure
The Hemp Educational Infrastructure (Division Four) includes Hemp, Inc.'s Hemp University which focuses on educating and empowering Hemp farmers and entrepreneurs with knowledge, processing, infrastructure and support. The educational seminars, through the Hemp University, are held periodically and teach farmers and landowners how to create a profitable income stream by maximizing the per-acre crop revenue. Through this Division, Hemp, Inc. has trained over 500 farmers in North Carolina to date.
Due to its overwhelming success in North Carolina, Hemp, Inc. executives have expanded The Hemp University. In addition to being held in NC, it will also be held in Oregon, Arizona and Puerto Rico. The next Hemp University will be held Saturday, March 23, 2019 at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon to educate, support and build community for hemp farmers and entrepreneurs. “We can help create thriving local communities in which the American Small Family Farm is once again a vital economic entity,†says Perlowin. “The Hemp University is key to the Hemp Revolution. Under Division 4, our focus is on teaching and providing quality content to be used by small family farms and small businesses. After all, knowledge is power, and by sharing knowledge, we grow together.â€
According to executives, there are also plans in the near future to expand The Hemp University to Puerto Rico through a variety of different formats and to Arizona. The eco-village in Arizona will serve as the venue for upcoming 2-day interactive and hands-on camping events which will focus on building with hemp-crete and other hemp construction materials, as well as growing hemp and the various aspects of organic gardening/farming.
“Since The Hemp University’s initial launch with the educational symposium, the number of attendees has grown tremendously and it has been an overwhelming success, each time. The interactive, hands-on learning approach is invaluable. By learning in an interactive cohort format, students gain the necessary skills they need to immediately implement them on their farm or in their organization. It’s the perfect mix of quality instruction, relevant educational content and a high level of commitment, to ensure the educational success of each attendee,†said Perlowin.
Thus far, The Hemp University has helped transform the livelihoods of North Carolina farmers transitioning from tobacco to industrial hemp by providing them with the tools and support needed to gain a foothold in this burgeoning industry.
Division Five – The Hemp Marketing Infrastructure
While marketing is a critical facet of any business operation for increasing revenues, Hemp, Inc. believes there must be a keen focus on the infrastructure first. The demand for CBD and hemp products is massive, some even say the demand is insatiable. In order to supply that type of volume/demand, there has to be a strong foundation or infrastructure in place. While Hemp, Inc. is poised to grow a rock solid Hemp Marketing Infrastructure, CEO Perlowin reminds us that this infrastructure has to be able to support a meteoric industry growth. The hemp-derived CBD market is expected to hit $591 million early this year, and it may grow 40 times this size—to $22 billion by 2022, according to the Brightfield Group report. “This is why we focus on infrastructure, at the moment, more so than specific marketing activities,†says Perlowin. “Specific marketing activities isn’t the issue. The ability to grow, process and produce what the marketplace is demanding is the issue and hence the reason we are focusing on creating the infrastructure first.