Marijuana Business Magazine March 2020

Marijuana Business Magazine | March 2020 104 T he design of a facility can dramatically impact how efficiently—or inefficiently—a cannabis extraction company operates. When designing a marijuana extraction lab, it helps to focus on: • Ensuring safety when working with dangerous gases. • Creating a smooth workflow and reducing the opportunity for contamination. • Leaving adequate space to work on the machines. • Sectioning off each stage in the process. • Planning ahead to scale up as the business expands. From a bird’s-eye view, extraction facilities typically are designed for product to move linearly from one side of the site to the other, with raw can- nabis flower entering the building on one side and the post-processing and storage room located on the other. “There’s absolutely a flow to this,” said Ankur Rungta, co-founder and CEO of C3 Industries, an Ann Arbor, BestPracticesInExtraction | Bart Schaneman Extracting cannabis is a multistage process that requires several moving parts. Facility design can make or break a company specializing in cannabis extraction. Operations should be designed with several factors in mind, including: • Make sure your employees are safe, especially since they’re often working with toxic gases and other dangerous materials. • Allow enough space for workers to perform routine cleaning and maintenance on the equipment. • Create a logical, efficient workflow that cuts down on opportunities for contamination. • Leave room for scaling up as your company grows and evolves. The layout of extraction equipment can have a big impact on operational efficiency. Photo Courtesy of MedPharm How to Design an Extraction Facility Veteran extractors say safety, workflow and ability to scale are key to designing an efficient operation