Business View Magazine | November 2019

232 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2019 following is generally with Grotek, but we see it as an opportunity to get on the ground in those countries, build a reputation as a science- based brand, and then, what we learn from our domestic cannabis experience, we can apply when other countries start coming on with their own regulations. “Our head office is in Langley, B.C., as is the bulk of our manufacturing, simply because we have strong technical specifications on our products and it’s much easier to make sure your quality assurance program is in place when you’re doing it in-house. Our facility has about 10,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing and 34,000 sq. ft. of additional warehouse space. As a company, if you include our remote reps, we’re at about 75 employees. Our raw material sourcing is a very involved process. We source from around the world; the majority comes from Europe, the Middle East, and North America. And some things we get from Asia.” BVM: Do you have an in-house R&D team and what role does technology play in manufacturing? Hart: “We have on-staff agronomists and other PhD on staff and as consultants. Also, within the organization, we have a lot of hands-on experience and scientific background within the general team. Science, and understanding modes of action of different inputs, are critical for us evolving as a business in the future. In our manufacturing facility, we have become more automated over the last few years, as sales have grown and new team members have been added who bring additional experience to how we run the business. We are looking at technology enhancements right now to go even further. In manufacturing, you have to be specific in how you mix things, and the volume you’re mixing, and, as in all things, human error can cause problems. So, we’re continuously working to bring in new technology to further ensure our people manufacturing the products have the tools and support they need from the equipment they use to do the best job possible. Along with this, we have made tremendous investments in quality assurance and other support functions to help us continue to grow at a fast pace without compromising quality in any way.