Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Smoky Hemp Decortication Ltd. (SHDL) held two open houses to celebrate the official commencement of its decortication business.
Open houses were held June 23 and June 25 to show investors and local municipal governments what the decortication process entails and how the machinery will all work to create a highly sought after final product.
“We took small groups on an explanatory tour of the processing line,” says chief executive officer Avis Gagne, adding two dates were available to allow more people to attend.
“Starting from the bale unroller right through the various components to the fan at the end of the line. Each step in the process was explained in detail, along with samples of what the hemp looks like at each step,” she adds.
The SHDL team has been working tirelessly for multiple years, seeking top-of-the-line equipment to purchase for the facility. Their decortica- tion equipment is patent pending, so much of the information cannot be shared; however, the equipment creates a smoother fibre than what is currently produced by other decortication operations, thus being used in finer products.
Gagne says the open houses were intended to provide information to the people who helped to make this happen.
“We felt that investors should have the first opportunity to see what their investments have purchased, and we wanted to make sure we had ample time to answer their questions, hear their suggestions,” she says.
“We also invited elected officials from the local municipalities.”
Gagne explains the team ran their first hemp straw through the line on May 5, much to the excitement of their hard-working and dedicated board and volunteers.
“We knew it was important to share the excitement we felt holding the fibre in our hands,” she says.
“I can’t put into words how satisfying it was, after six years, to finally hold SHDL’s processed fibre in my hands. It has been a long wait, and while it will take several weeks to fine tune the line, we are more than pleased with the initial start-up,” she adds.
The open houses allowed investors and politicians to look inside the purpose-built components SHDL purchased from Maxxera to see how the group used repurposed components from farm equipment to link all the machinery together to make a decortication line.
“We had samples of finished fibre from other decortication systems to compare with ours, to show how well our process works, even before fine tuning,” she says.
“We also had samples of hemp fibre insulation and hardboard from companies that are eager to buy our products, and partner with us to produce these end products.”
Gagne says their team is currently in the pre-production stage and full commissioning of the line will take a few more weeks to accomplish. They are also looking at how to package the hurd and bale the finished fibre.
“We have always maintained that we want to produce the best quality fibre in North America which is why, the fine tuning of the process is critical,” she says.
“Once that is complete and we are generating sales income, we will move forward with completing the insulation and heating for the building.”
Smoky Hemp Decortication Ltd. has also opened a new round of fundraising, looking for investors to join their initiative, and it will remain open until mid-August.
“The offering is for Class A shares to which adhere voting rights as well as dividends,” she explains.
“Investors must purchase a minimum of 250 shares that total $2,500. Alberta Securities law defines several categories of investor and defines how much each can invest, based on investment amount, income level and other criteria. Anyone interested is welcome to reach out to me at ceosmokyhemp @gmail.com.”
All funds raised will be directed toward completing the building, purchasing additional hemp bales, and meeting obligations for the building lease purchase agreement.
“Our farmers grow what are arguably the best quality grains, pulses, and canola in the world,” Gagne says.
“And now the best quality industrial hemp straw!” she adds.
“Yet we process none of it here. We believe we can and should tap into the economic value added to those raw crops by processing. Doing so creates direct and indirect jobs, supports existing local business, attracts new residents and offers opportunity for our young people. This is an opportunity to be a part of growing the future of our area.”
Gagne says along with the final work of completing the building, the next steps will include hiring staff to work the processing line, packaging and shipping fibre and hurd to customers, and expanding contracts with farmers to feed their plant.
