The Cannabis Wars: Nature vs Technology

Photo by Richard T on Unsplash

When Vertical Companies set out to construct a massive technology-driven cannabis cultivation facility they knew they were going to face some tough challenges. Up until recently, even just 100 lights was considered a large-scale operation. Vertical upped the ante with a whopping 1,800 light indoor grow spread across 2 massive buildings.

Finding the perfect location for the facility had unique challenges. Licensing in cannabis can make or break a large operation. Vertical worked tirelessly with the city of Needles (California) to draft new city ordinances and helped create workable cannabis laws. These laws enabled Vertical’s operations and helped the struggling city generate some much-needed tax revenue to improve the lives of its residents. Vertical is currently licensed and permitted to manufacture, distribute, and sell any and all kinds of cannabis products.

After almost two years of meticulous planning, Vertical opened the doors to its 7-acre cannabis campus with an additional 22 acres of land already zoned and approved for additional cannabis use.

To receive information on investing with Vertical click here.

The campus has three buildings, two for cultivation and one for extraction and manufacturing. The two cultivation facilities are a highly intelligent mix of nature and technology. 

With a facility that size it was not feasible for workers to be able to walk around inspecting thousands of plants or checking to make sure that all 1,800 lights turned on and are shining at the proper brightness. Instead, Vertical built out a complex software system capable of monitoring nearly all aspects of the cannabis process. 

One of the major pieces of cannabis-tech Vertical has deployed are sensors that can monitor everything from PH levels in the soil to hydration and nutrient levels. This is crucial as too little or too much of anything can dramatically impact the harvest yield. 

The software also monitors other factors in the room such as airflow, temperature and light strength. Vertical’s master growers have dialed in every step of the growing process and have been demonstrating their talent consistently with a large harvest every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week of the year.

The facility is almost fully converted to highly energy-efficient LED lights. LED light technology has come a long way in the cannabis industry with LEDs giving off much less heat, so plants that grow close to the light are not damaged. As there is less heat, less AC is needed to cool down the rooms. This results in a huge saving on power which is one of the larger line items on the balance sheet.

The result of all this careful planning and execution is Vertical having an operation full of perfectly predictable components, which produces hundreds of pounds of high-grade cannabis flower weekly. 

If this wasn’t enough of an undertaking, Vertical isn’t even close to being finished scaling. The company has received licensing, zoning, and permitting for a further 22 acres of expansion on their land in Needles, CA. With roads and fire hydrants already on the land, putting up additional buildings and duplicating the success they are already having is already being planned. With Vertical, the only way is up.

To receive information on investing with Vertical click here.