VIDEO: GrowForce Holdings Inc Going Public in October

GrowForce Holdings Inc is a Toronto-based indoor grow operation that is going public in October. Executive Vice-President of Operations James Lowe explains that the company is a spinout and affiliate of the US-based MJardin Group, the largest grower of cannabis in North America. GrowForce plans to participate in the recreational and medical space and has recently completed a $38 million round of financing. Lowe believes the future of the industry in Canada is indoor facilities not greenhouse grows, and GrowForce’s seed-to-sale approach includes indoor facilities, extraction, and retail.

Transcript:

James West:   Hey, welcome back. My guest in this segment is James Lowe; he’s the Executive Vice-President of Operations for Growforce Holdings Inc. James, welcome.

James Lowe:   Glad to be here.

James West:   James, let’s start with the obligatory overview: what does Growforce Holdings do?

James Lowe:   So, Growforce Holdings, Canadian LP. We have a little bit of a different approach, little different history – our roots are in the United States. We’re a spinout of a company, MJardin Management. They’re the largest cannabis cultivator in North America to date, they produced over 100,000 kilos of cannabis in their history, manage or own 38-plus facilities spread out over a wide geographical area from Hawaii to Vermont. So Growforce was kind of born out of those roots; completely independent company based here in Toronto, and we are leveraging, I guess, the experience that group has built over the last decade to essentially be the most experienced LP in Canada, believe it or not.

James West:   So that’s probably a shock and a revelation to not just myself, but a lot of people watching – Mjardin is the largest grower of cannabis in North America?

James Lowe:   Yeah. Biggest grower you never heard of.

James West:   Right!

James Lowe:   So, and that’s – not to get in too much of their story, but you know, they’ve switched to an owner asset model instead of just management, but because of years of management with different licensees around the country, you know, they were responsible for operating those cultivation businesses for the clients, not just really in a consulting role, actually hands on – all the employees were theirs. So they quietly built up a massive data pool, you know, hundreds of harvests, thousands of tests, millions of grams of cannabis grown over 10 years, you know, all of which was done in the shadows.

So we’re excited to be the exclusive international partner that utilizes their IP and expertise here in Canada and other locations.

James West:   Very cool. So the general game plan is to be another licensed producer providing recreational, mostly? Or medical, or both?

James Lowe:   Both. You know, the way that we look at it, this is lap one of a 600-lap race. You know, we’re not in a hurry to make a splash on October 17^th; we have a very measured approach to what we’re doing here, and we’re not in the business of building millions of square feet of greenhouse; we actually think that’s maybe not the right play for this area of the world. So we are a very much indoor-focused company: run our own indoor, run our own extraction, controlling our own retail shelf space. So full vertical integration, seed to sale.

James West:   And you have a go-public strategy?

James Lowe:   Yeah, go public early October. We completed a $38 million raise recently; I think, like I said, first week of October we’re doing an RTO with a Platform 8 shell and all of that documentation and heavy lifting is behind us, so as soon as the TSX gives us the go-ahead, we’ll be trading soon.

James West:   Wow, very cool. So is the plan to continue to grow more facilities?

James Lowe:   Well, like I said, it was a measured approach. You know, we don’t have any intent to grow massive greenhouse, right? We’re purely focused –

James West:   Okay, good.

James Lowe:   It’s the last thing the Canadian market needs, is another big greenhouse. But no, it’s indoor agriculture for us. You know, we believe that, you know, maybe because there’s been a lot more capital available to Canadian LPs to date and maybe not so much experience, there’s a lot of present greenhouse industry here from the veg and the hort and cut flower world, and so there was a belief that hey: we’ll go ahead and build nice big greenhouses, it’s obviously the low-cost way to go. But what we often refer to as the first mover disadvantage in this industry; I know it from experience, I’ve got the battle scars to prove that maybe being first mover is not always best.

But for us, you know, that indoor cultivation technique is going to provide year-round, consistent high-grade product, especially here in Canada where you’ve got some of the lowest energy prices in the developed world – $0.03 a kilowatt hour at some of our locations. You know, that kind of chips in to some of that perceived benefit of greenhouse production.

James West:   Sure, you bet. Do you have a plan to continue into the US, should it go legal there?

James Lowe:   No, that’s where that spinout occurred.

James West:   I see, MJardin stays in the US?

James Lowe:   A year ago, MJardin, you know, stays in the US. Through a contractual relationship, you know, they’ll be able to follow Growforce through international expansion, keep utilizing their expertise and IP, but no. MJardin is US, Growforce, headquartered in Toronto but with global aspirations.

James West:   Okay, great. Well, that’s an awesome introduction. We will come back to you after you go public and see how the company is making out. Thanks for joining me today, James.

James Lowe:   Thanks.

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Original article: VIDEO: GrowForce Holdings Inc Going Public in October

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