MONTGOMERY – PharmaCann Inc. conducted a “first-planting” ceremony to unveil their state-of-the-art cultivation and manufacturing facility in Montgomery. The $130 million facility upgrade and expansion were executed by Holt Construction’s unionized workforce and will meet the increasing demand for legal, safe, and tested cannabis as both medical and adult-use sales grow.
“We are proud of PharmaCann’s leadership role in cannabis in New York State, and across the country,” said PharmaCann CEO Brett Novey. “The industry is challenging for companies like ours, as well as first-time entrepreneurs entering the market.”
The expansion, which took two years, employed over 150 union construction workers who contributed approximately 175,000 labor hours to the project. Today, the facility employs 90 workers and once fully scaled up, will employ up to 250 people.
Alan Seidman, executive director of the Construction Contractors Association of the Hudson Valley had high praise for the company.
“Lots of local labor on the job, lots of local contractors on the job and 225 high-paying permanent jobs for people in the Valley,” he said.
Upgrades were made to facility mechanicals and processing equipment and one of the greenhouses was fully renovated with the installation of high-efficiency LED lighting systems.
The expansion also includes a new state-of-the-art indoor growing area, with cutting-edge design elements like environmental water reclamation, fertigation, facility-monitoring, and security systems.
According to company officials, the facility’s renovated design features green energy, recycling, composting, and water conservation practices that align with New York’s environmental regulations for manufacturing cannabis products efficiently.
PharmaCann SVP for Public and Regulatory Affairs, Jeremy Unrugh said, “One of the things we are most proud of is our relationship with labor and our shared commitment to helping them create good-paying careers here in New York. From our team members handling the actual plants to Holt Construction laying down the steel girders, PharmaCann has fully embraced New York’s vision to build a cannabis market that doesn’t only create jobs but starts careers.”
At the “first planting” event company officials called on the state to open up the licensing process. It has been a few years since recreational adult-use cannabis was approved in New York, however, state regulators have been slow to issue the licenses necessary to spin up the licit cannabis market.
In addition to the company’s Montgomery-based manufacturing and grow facility, it has four dispensaries in New York located in the Bronx, Albany, Syracuse, and Buffalo.
