NAPANEE, Ontario, Sept. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX-V: VIVO, OTCQB: VVCIF) (“VIVO” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has completed the construction of its first innovative seasonal “Airhouse”.
The first of four planned Airhouses to be constructed in 2018 has been completed on the Company’s 65 acre parcel of land in Napanee, Ontario. Each Airhouse represents over 17,000 square feet of cultivation space in a unique seasonal greenhouse environment and is expected to yield two harvests per year. A total of 68,000 square feet of cultivation space (providing incremental annual capacity of 4,000 kilograms of dry flower) will be available once the first phase of Airhouse construction is completed over the next few weeks. VIVO expects to grow quality cannabis for extraction in these structures, with very favourable operating costs and a much lower capital investment than traditional glass greenhouse facilities.
Airhouses are a greenhouse alternative widely used in commercial agricultural applications to produce flowers, vegetables and fruits, substituting glass for high quality vinyl. They are much more cost-efficient than building greenhouses while being safe, effective and environmentally-friendly.
The opening of our first Airhouse cultivation facility represents VIVO’s commitment to both innovation and cost management to produce a variety of quality cannabis. Although these Airhouses are used to cultivate cannabis in the US, VIVO is the first licensed producer in Canada to utilize this technology.
Barry Fishman, VIVO’s CEO
We expect these Airhouses to provide us cannabis needed to satisfy the increasing demand for extracted product.By the end of 2018, our total annual capacity in both BC and Ontario is expected to exceed 12,000 kilograms.
The Airhouses themselves possess multiple attributes which differentiate them in significant ways from all other greenhouse structures. Their positive internal pressure allows the structures to remain inflated and intact, even in hurricane-force winds, and prevents the entry of unwanted pest into the production space resulting in a structure that is USDA certified for plant quarantine production. The Airhouses have passive wind collection towers which, in most conditions, are sufficient alone for maintaining inflation. When wind speeds are not adequate, a series of large internal fans take up the load and can maintain a steady wind of 15km/hr inside the structures if desired. The maximum power consumption of each greenhouse is 20kW, a level of power use which is many orders of magnitude lower then conventional greenhouse design. Taken individually, each of these unique features represents an improvement over conventional greenhouse design.
About VIVO Cannabis™
VIVO, based in Napanee, Ontario, is recognized for trusted, high-quality products and services. It holds production and sales licences from Health Canada and operates world-class indoor cultivation facilities with proprietary plant-growing technology. VIVO has a collection of premium brands targeting unique customer segments, including Beacon Medical™, FIRESIDE™, Canna Farms™ and Lumina™. In August 2018, VIVO acquired Canna Farms Limited, a premium cannabis company based in Hope, British Columbia. Canna Farms was B.C.’s first Licensed Producer and has many years of craft cultivation experience and expertise, as well as a significant patient base and positive cash flow. VIVO is significantly expanding its production capacity and pursuing partnership and product development opportunities domestically, as well as in select international markets, including Germany and Australia. In addition, VIVO also operates Harvest Medicine, a patient-centric and highly scalable network of specialty medical cannabis clinics. Harvest Medicine provides best-in-class education and support to over 15,000 patients in its clinics and via its free telemedicine platform. VIVO has a healthy balance sheet with over $100 million in cash and is well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our business, in Canada and internationally.
