PARIS, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – March 10, 2017) – Emblem Corp. (TSX VENTURE:EMC) (“Emblem” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has retained the consulting services of Nate Nienhuis for its Canadian cannabis operations.
“This is a major development for our Company,” said Gordon Fox, CEO of Emblem. “Mr. Nienhuis is recognized throughout North America as one of the pre-eminent experts in cannabis horticulture and cannabis extraction. He is also an engineer and has consulted extensively on environmental systems, lighting systems and building envelope design for closed-box cannabis production facilities. He has the exact skills that Emblem needs to design and operate the facilities that will fulfill our mandate of producing the highest quality cannabis products for the Canadian market.”
“The industry challenge for the Canadian market is to produce high quality cannabis to the exacting standards of the Canadian regime, at scale,” said Maxim Zavet, President of Emblem Cannabis Corp. “Mr. Nienhuis brings the leadership and experience that will allow us to produce premium quality cannabis that only indoor growing provides, and in the considerable volumes that the Canadian market is anticipated to require.”
Background
Mr. Nienhuis is a mechanical engineer. His introduction to the cannabis industry came through retainers to design environment systems and control systems for cannabis cultivation. These retainers required him to undertake prolonged research into the distinctive demands of cannabis horticulture. The unique inter-relationship between environmental systems and lighting systems for cannabis production led him to design the HID based horticultural lighting systems commonly used in indoor cannabis production across North America today.
His cannabis horticulture expertise has led to a wide variety of consulting projects. He has consulted with nutrient manufacturers in the United States and Canada to develop proprietary fertilizers and plant supplements for use in the cannabis industry. He has acted as a design consultant to cannabis operators in the United States and Canada, designing entire cultivation facilities and extraction laboratories. He has provided training programs for indoor cannabis cultivation and he has also routinely consulted on the development and implementation of Standard Operating Procedures required to comply with a variety of cannabis regulatory regimes across North America.
Mr. Nienhuis has held appointments as head horticulturalist in operations in licensed medical cannabis regimes in California, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Washington DC.
In 2012, under the auspices of the US Department of Health and the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Mr. Nienhuis consulted on the District of Columbia’s program for legalized medical cannabis, grew cannabis for that program and developed the extraction capability for that program. He undertook similar consulting retainers in Maryland. The compliance regimes for cannabis production in Washington DC and Maryland have a similar level of complexity to the compliance requirements of the ACMPR regime.
Mr. Nienhuis has also utilized his engineering background to develop and sell equipment for the safe extraction of cannabinoids. He was one of the first individuals to migrate extraction from butane-based to super critical and sub-critical pressure CO2 extraction, the current standard for cannabis extraction in North America. As an extraction expert, he has consulted on facility design for commercial scale cannabis extraction laboratories in the United States and Canada, including the required compliance with Class 1 Division 1 standards (use of volatile chemicals).
Importance to Emblem
Emblem’s business plan is focused and dependent on the production of very high quality cannabis in a closed box, clean room environment. Producing cannabis to the exacting standards of the ACMPR regime is quite challenging. Producing cannabis to this standard, but at the scale that the Company expects will be required in the future will be even more demanding. Emblem recognizes that horticultural expertise and leadership will be a key element in the success of Emblem’s dried flower strategy.
Emblem’s business plan also involves the production of high quality cannabis oil and cannabinoid based medication in standard pharmaceutical dosage formats. A complete command of the science and technology of cannabis extraction is critical to the success of Emblem’s oil and pharmaceutical business.
Closed box production facilities are capital intensive. As Emblem builds additional capacity at its facility, it is critical for Emblem to have “in-house” design expertise for all elements of building envelop science, environmental systems, control and lighting systems to ensure the highest quality production facility at the lowest cost and greatest efficiency.
Mr. Nienhuis brings to Emblem all of these essential skills.
“We are delighted to have Nate as a member of our team and delighted that he has made a long-term commitment to Emblem,” said Mr. Fox.
About Emblem
Emblem is licensed under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (the “ACMPR”) to cultivate and sell medical marihuana. Emblem carries out its principal activities producing marihuana from its facilities in Paris, Ontario pursuant to the provisions of the ACMPR and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) and its regulations.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. Emblem cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Emblem’s control. Such factors include those described in the Company’s Filing Statement dated November 30, 2016 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Emblem undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.
Ali Mahdavi
(416) 962-3300
alimahdavi@emblemcorp.com