Westleaf hits construction milestone at large-scale, indoor grow facility in Saskatchewan

Westleaf Inc. has taken the next step to becoming a truly vertically integrated cannabis company with the near completion of exterior construction work at the Thunderchild cannabis cultivation facility in Battleford, Sask. and the start of its interior build.

 

 

The approximately 130,000 sq. ft. facility now being built is expected to produce about 14,600 kg of flower annually once both phases are completed and is fully funded (including ATB Financial commitments to provide up to $24 million in senior debt in connection with phase one and two of the facility), notes a statement from Westleaf.

Phase one of the Thunderchild facility—the name being a nod to one of the company’s largest and earliest shareholders, Thunderchild First Nation—includes an approximately 85,000 sq. ft. indoor growing facility expected to be produce about 7,300 kg of high-quality, consistent dried cannabis flower annually, notes Westleaf, a vertically integrated cannabis company focused on innovative retail experiences, engaging cannabis brands and cultivation, production and extraction of cannabis products. Phase two of the project is expected to double the annual production to approximately 14,600 kg.

“Once licensed by Health Canada, the facility will be the company’s flagship grow operation,” the company reports. Representing a foundational production operation, the facility “will provide product to the company’s extraction and processing facility located in Calgary, Alta. and, ultimately, to its wholly owned retail operations in Western Canada, operating under the brand Prairie Records.”

The cultivation site is located on lands owned by the Thunderchild First Nation and, once fully operational, is anticipated to provide a source of long-term employment for as many as 150 people from the neighbouring communities.

“The Thunderchild facility is a key component in Westleaf’s vertically integrated cannabis strategy,” comments Westleaf president and CEO Scott Hurd.

By supplying cannabis to feed the company’s extraction and processing facility and that can be sold through the wholly owned retail stores, “this three-pronged approach provides us a unique advantage in the industry as we will be able to adjust product mix based on real-time consumer feedback from the retail level and allow us to capture margin across the entire vertical cannabis chain,” Hurd says.

 

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