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Organigram receives HC OK for 16 more cultivation rooms
2019-12-13 07:49 ET - News Release
Mr. Greg Engel reports
ORGANIGRAM RECEIVES LICENSING FOR CHOCOLATE PRODUCTION AND PACKAGING AREA; INCREASED PRODUCTION, DRYING AND OTHER POST-HARVESTING AREAS
Organigram Holdings Inc. has received Health Canada's approval for the licensing of 16 additional cultivation rooms under the Cannabis Regulations. The expanded licence was effective as of Dec. 12, 2019.
The new cultivation rooms represent approximately 13,000 kilograms/year of increased target cultivation capacity. These are the remaining 16 rooms licensed within the company's phase 4B expansion and now bring the company's Moncton campus licensed capacity to a target of 89,000 kg/year.
As a result of this approval, cannabis plants will be moved into these new rooms on a rolling basis in early 2020. The company anticipates initial harvesting of product from these new rooms by the end of April, 2020, assuming normal cultivation timelines. After drying and other postharvest processing (including packaging and product testing) dried flower from these additional rooms is expected to begin to be available for sale to patients and customers in the company's fiscal quarter ending May 31, 2020.
The amendment also included an expanded site perimeter for phase 4C as well as phase 5 and approval for the operations area that houses the company's state-of-the-art chocolate line. Additional drying and storage areas have also been added to the company's licence.
The licences are valid until March 27, 2020, and subject to terms and conditions.
"This is a dynamic time for Organigram and the industry as a whole. Cannabis 2.0 -- the legalization of adult use recreational cannabis edibles, vape products, extracts and topicals -- is a new era for cannabis here at home and around the world," said Greg Engel, chief executive officer, Organigram. "Our physical expansion reflects our ambitious response to this new opportunity as well as our ongoing commitment to anticipating and meeting the demands of Canadian cannabis consumers for new and innovative cannabis experiences."
Organigram has purchased and taken delivery of a high-speed, high-capacity chocolate production line, which includes a state-of-the-art chocolate moulding line and a fully integrated packaging line that includes advanced engineering, robotics, high-speed labelling and automated carton packing. The company expects commissioning in time for initial sales in the first quarter of calendar 2020.