The Agrima Botanicals facility in Pitt Meadows, as part of a new deal, will supply Aurora with up to 20,000 kilograms of dried cannabis flower per year, for the next five years.
In addition to dried cannabis flower, Agrima will also supply up to 6,000 kg of cannabis trim per year.
Agrima is a subsidiary of Ascent Industries, a licensed producer of medical marijuana.
Philip Campbell, CEO and director of Ascent, said that the company is delighted to be selected as a supplier to Aurora.
“We believe this represents the beginning of a strong strategic relationship with Aurora, one which will benefit both companies for years to come.”
Agrima will produce the cannabis flower and trim at its facility in Pitt Meadows, a 600,000 square foot building with automated cultivation and a capacity of 60,000 kg of cut flower per year.
“The agreement with Ascent brings further differentiation to Aurora’s growing portfolio of products,” said Terry Booth, Aurora CEO. “Expanding product choice to our various audiences through quality operators, such as Agrima, positions us well to accelerate growth. Furthermore, the relationship provides an opportunity to potentially source additional, higher-margin derivative products down the line.”
The agreement is effective for five years, subject to a 12,000 kg per year minimum.
Currently, Ascent has licenses to cultivate cannabis and plans to apply for a distribution license in the future.
Ascent has facilities in Canada, Oregon, and Nevada.
Aurora Cannabis is a Canadian medical marijuana producer. On Tuesday, it signed an agreement to buy Anandia Laboratories Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at $115 million.
A proposal by Pinecone Products for the Golden Ears Business Park was approved in 2017.
Ascent Industries is the parent company for both Agrima Botanicals in Maple Ridge and Pinecone in Pitt Meadows.
Agrima, established in 2013, has a research agreement with SFU’s biological sciences department, and is a provider of medical cannabis products.
The company has received over $450,000 in government grants to date for cannabis research.
Agrima has 75 employees in Maple Ridge, and 28 have university degrees, college diplomas or red seal certifiicates.
Reid Parr, co-founder and chief financial officer of Ascent, told Pitt council in October that Pinecone would be a secure, custom research and processing facility with up to 40 highly skilled workers once fully operational.
It has live, verified monitoring of the site with 100 per cent camera coverage, and a custom three-stage air filtration system.
Agrima’s Maple Ridge facility is on agricultural land, to conform with bylaws.
