Expected to be up and running by summer, company officials estimate the 60,000 sq. ft. processing facility will be able to process as much as 50,000 tons of fibre and 110,000 tons of hurd (woody interior material) annually.

The Bruderheim facility, with a staff of 60 or more, is just the first of several more planned across Western Canada, according to CRHC.

The company already provides processed hemp to manufacturing facilities globally for product outputs that include textiles, pulp and paper, animal bedding, rope and twine, building and insulation materials, composites and automobile components, the statement notes. With customers spanning Canada, the U.S., Italy, Australia, New Zealand and China, the location will fit well with current markets given it is “located to optimize transportation access for global logistics.”

CRHC already provides processed hemp to manufacturing facilities globally for product outputs that include textiles, pulp and paper, animal bedding, rope and twine, building and insulation materials, composites and automobile components. / PHOTO BY CANADIAN ROCKIES HEMP CORPORATION, INSTAGRAM

Together, CRHC and its local farming partners leverage 20 million acres of Northern Alberta farmland within a 500-kilometre radius.

And CRHC can’t say enough good things about what Northern Alberta offers when it comes to hemp fibre. It starts with higher yields than southern regions and experienced broadacre farmers and ends with long summer days and the relative lack of humidity.

The company website further claims the area “can commercially produce large quantities of hemp fibre more economically than current global industry leaders.”

With the help of Merida Capital, “we were able to stress test our company model, proactively prevent risks and align with legal regulations, setting us up for success heading into 2021,” Aaron Barr, CEO of CRHC and a certified horticultural specialist, says in the company statement.

“We feel that CRHC is a best-in-class operator which has thoughtfully strategized their approach to provide a sustainable, consistent supply of processed hemp to manufacturing facilities worldwide,” says Mina Mishrikey, a partner at Merida Capital.

“The industrial hemp industry is just being developed in North America, and the opportunity is massive, with demand from various industries across the globe.” / PHOTO BY P_SARANYA / / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

“The industrial hemp industry is just being developed in North America, and the opportunity is massive, with demand from various industries across the globe,” Mishrikey adds.

In 2018, U.S.-based Hemp, Inc. cited the resurgence of the hemp industry, especially with regard to the ever-increasing popularity of CBD hemp oil. Pointing to figures from the Brightfield Group, “the CBD market is expected to hit $591 million this year, and it may grow 40 times this size — to US$22 billion by 2022.”

In 2019, a Grand View Research report valued the North America and Oceania industrial hemp market size at US$ 2.6 billion in 2018, adding that the compound annual growth rate was estimated at 23.4 per cent from 2019 to 2025.

There are some large hemp processing facilities that are either operating or planned. In the U.S., for example, Paragon Processing operates one of the largest such facilities in the U.S. Located about 225 kilometres south of Denver, the facility reports to be 250,000 sq. feet and can process 500 tons of hemp biomass monthly.

According to Vegconomist, Panda Biotech’s hemp processing centre in Lubbock County, Texas will focus on producing textile-grade fibre and premium cellulose, has secured the right to purchase a 255,000 sq. ft. facility in Shallowater and expect to process more than 130,000 tons of industrial hemp annually.