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“The challenge is to reliably homogenize the environmental experience for the plants, so they all behave the same and produce the same medicinal compounds,” said Dr. Michael Dixon of the University of Guelph’s research facility. “The only way to achieve that is to grow plants in a very precisely controlled, predictable and reproducible manner.”

ABcann, while slower to go public than some of its competitors, is doing so now from a position of strength, fervour, and ability – and the science to back its claims – to dominate the market.

Since it began selling products in June of last year, the company can’t keep up with demand, with a growing rate of 30 per cent, month over month. Its customer retention rate is 94.7 per cent.

“Our patient demand at the start of the year has exploded,” said Ken Clement, founder and executive chairman. “To keep up, we need to expand, now! That’s the reason we are going public,” he said. “We will become one of the biggest companies in the country.”

ABcann is in the process of raising $8 million in equity from the IPO and expects to become one of the top five producers in Canada within short order. The financing will be used to build a second facility four times the size of its current plant at Vanluven, which produces 1,000 kg a year. Production is expected to double this year at the Vanluven facility to 2,000 kg, with the addition of two bloom chambers. Once the second facility is up and running, the company will have the capacity to produce some 20,000 kg annually. It also owns another 65 acres that are ready for development.