WHITEWATER REGION — Dan Tauvette is a patient man.
He has also smoked cannabis, aka marijuana, aka pot, aka weed, aka maryjane…aka whatever you want to call it – but just twice.
And what do the two have to do with each other?
Mr. Tauvette has been patient because for about 18 months, he spent hours researching growing medicinal marijuana and all it entails, which took much time away from his construction company.
And while researching it some people felt he hadn’t smoked enough to know the mechanics of the business.
But, he knows that’s not true.
Glasshouse Botanics is now a reality under the ownership of Mr. Tauvette, Jeff Black and a private investor.
“We wanted to produce a medical product that we can help people with,” he said.
He noted his wife Francesca “has been quite helpful throughout the process. We have two young children, so she’s been picking up the slack while I’ve been working on this.”
Married for eight years, the couple have two-year-old Finn and three-year-old Penny, and they recently purchased a hobby farm in Horton Township.
Glasshouse Botanics is a medicinal cannabis production facility now under construction in the Whitewater Industrial Park.
“We are licensed through Health Canada,” Mr. Tauvette said.
Along with selling in Canada, the facility will also be licensed to sell in Europe, he said.
Recreational cannabis does not suit the company’s business model, he noted.
Looking back to the start, Mr. Tauvette started the venture on his own, then invited in Mr. Black and the private investor.
While Whitewater Region is the chosen spot for the facility, he noted it wasn’t the only area that was looked at, but it was the suitable location.
“We looked at this area, Renfrew, Southern Ontario, along the St. Lawrence,” he said. “We looked at quite a few different locations, even as far north as Smooth Rock Falls.
“We definitely did quite a bit of search before we selected here.”
Mr. Tauvette noted council helped navigate the process of establishing the business here. A place was needed where a facility like this would be acceptable, because not all municipalities would have been open to such a business locating, he said.
“It was mutually beneficial to work together and make everything happen,” he said, adding, “I don’t have any complaints from the way council dealt with anything, but you obviously wish that things were a little bit quicker.”
Mr. Tauvette believes the area has the has the people required, especially since it’s an agricultural area, and there would be people with a passion for agriculture.
“Whether they’re here now or we brought them back because they felt they could move back because of the employment,” he said.
The business will definitely add to the local economy and local people will be hired as much as possible, he said.
There will be a greenhouse in the back and a head house in the front, Mr. Tauvette said. While you can see into the greenhouse, the head house will be steel-glazed panels, he said. The head house is the production space, for processing, trimming, packaging. There will also be extraction for oils, he added.
This past January, Glasshouse Botanics purchased the property and just as the snow was melting, contractors began working the land.
“This was not the easiest piece of land to start developing on,” Mr. Tauvette said, recalling, “It was covered in bedrock that we had to blast out. That was something that ended up being quite time-consuming to prep the site.”
He said many local contractors are being hired, however, because of the size of the project, large contracting companies from outside the area have also been brought in.
There will be 20,000 square feet of green house on 23,000 square feet, which includes washroom facilities, changerooms, shipping/receiving and the head house will support an additional 40,000 square feet, Mr. Tauvette said.
Phase 2 is another 40,000 square feet of greenhouse and Phase 3 will be another 440,000 square feet of greenhouse. It’s expected Phase 2 will begin in the spring of 2019 and Phase 3 the following spring, he said.
Mr. Tauvette said while the facility is large, there is a “big, big need for (medicinal cannabis).
“In the European markets, people are definitely signing contracts and the contracts are getting bought up pretty quick,” he said.
It’s hopeful that by January production will begin, but it will all be dependent on final approval from Health Canada, Mr. Tauvette said. Once construction is complete, an evidence package will be sent to Health Canada providing that what was agreed to regarding the facility has been completed.
When the plant begins, there will be up to 15 employees, because only 10,000 square feet of the greenhouses will be used at first, he said.
“We want to make sure we are focusing on our quality and then you have to get a sales licence through Health Canada, which means inspections, and getting the product tested,” he said. “The focus is on not making any mistakes.”
As for employees, Mr. Tauvette said grow and production staff will be hired at first, and then eventually human resources and administration. When all the phases are completed, there could be as many as 400 employees, he noted.
Hiring has already begun, with the hiring of key employees, such as the head grower.
“We do actually have people who have come to us with experience,” Mr. Tauvette said. “Our head grower was actually growing legally for 10 years.”
People who have experience working in greenhouses are needed as well, he said.
Also, as people are hearing about the facility, they are coming and dropping off their resumes to whomever is here, he said, noting in the next few weeks the site will get busier and a site office will soon be established.
There will be training sessions and a training package is now being developed, Mr. Tauvette said. There’s also the thought of working with Algonquin College to provide a program, he said.
Eventually the facility will also provide a research area, he said.
“There will be scientific researchers, for all different things,” he said. “When we do extractions, when we produce oil, that’s something that you end up with different formulas that have different benefits. You do quite a bit of testing in what you can extract.”
As for security, Mr. Tauvette said, “It’ll look like a prison fence. It’s a nine-foot-fence that has barb wire at the top.
“There will be lots and lots of cameras. We cover all the fence line, the fence has sensors on it, so if anybody tries to climb or touch the fence, it’ll go to our monitoring system.
“Within, everything is secure as well, with high-tech security,” he said, explaining, “This is done to ensure safety as well as ensure contamination isn’t occurring.”
Mr. Tauvette noted there has been a lot of interest from the public, who visit the site regularly.
“A lot of people drive by and check on the status of what’s going on,” he said. “We’ve chatted to a number of people. Some people know about us and for some people it’s brand new information. In general, people seem supportive. We haven’t had any real negative feedback, so that’s good.”
