This article originally appeared in the September 2017 print edition of Cannabis Business Times. To subscribe, click here.
Motivated by lower prices and shrinking profit margins on cannabis, many commercial growers are eyeing improvements to their bench systems as a way to maximize efficiency. Because every aspect of cultivation is connected to that choice, it’s a logical place to start.
Whether they are improving or expanding an existing facility, or building a new one, growers who are contemplating such a decision naturally want to consider the latest technology. They may be surprised to learn that the best solutions aren’t really new.
“The new technologies in benching solutions for the cannabis market are products we’ve had for probably about the past 20 years in the horticulture market,” says Ron Berkhout, a veteran of the horticulture industry who represents VRE Systems. The Canadian company serves cannabis and other horticultural growers, helping them select the right equipment for their operations.
The weakest link in efficiency is often a stationary table system, which is still used extensively in the commercial cannabis market. They are the simplest and, at $8 to $10 per square foot, the least expensive. But, because they are designed to stay in one place, there is a limit to what growers can do with them.
For that reason, some cannabis growers are ready to consider rolling and mobile benching systems. Rolling bench systems typically cost $15 to $17 per square foot. For approximately $28 to $30 a square foot, a mobile system can provide even greater levels of efficiency.
In some applications, tables are customized with removable, adjustable-height net supports to protect top-heavy growth from stem damage. Many bench systems are height-adjustable, as well.
To read the full article in Cannabis Business Times' September issue, click here.
Top photo courtesy of EnviroTech
