Marijuana Business Magazine March 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | March 2019 106 W hen Vitalis Extraction Technology set out to design an improved pump system for use in CO2 extraction, the Canadian company had two goals: • Ensure the technology addressed extractors’ immediate equipment needs, including better reliability and flow rates. • Future-proof the pump to antici- pate health and safety regulations in Canada and the United States, as well as to meet stringent regu- lations already in place in Europe. To accomplish this, the company spoke extensively with cannabis extractors across North America. In addition, it turned to engineers in the highly regulated oil and gas industry to ensure its CO2 pump would meet tough standards and regulations— both today and in the future. “We never wanted to sell or represent a piece of equipment that could later become obsolete,” Vitalis chairman and co-founder Joel Sherlock said. Research, Research Vitalis wanted its CO2 pump to meet extractors’ specific needs, so before the Kelowna, British Columbia- based company’s launch in 2016, it conducted two years of research. Company executives spoke with cannabis extractors who wanted improvements to existing pump technology, including upgrades to reliability, flow rates, separation systems and scalability. Given the evolving cannabis regulatory landscape in North America and Europe, Vitalis also designed its pump system to qualify for advanced equipment safety certifications and built in components to allow cannabis extractors to meet future health standards regarding the composition of concentrates. Sherlock expects that the federal governments in Canada—where Priming the Pump By Celene Adams Vitalis Extraction Technology relies on oil and gas industry engineering design expertise and in-house manufacturing to produce advanced CO2 pump systems Vitalis technicians assemble a pump system. Courtesy Photo Business Strategies | Ancillary