Sealed and Delivered

Smokey Point Productions (SPP) owner Brian Lade is a grower at heart. With more than 20 years of experience as a cannabis cultivator, he knows what it takes to grow a premium product. “It’s where my passion lies,” he says.

To meet his passion in the field, Lade started SPP in 2013 as a medical cultivator in Washington. He provided clones to other farmers in the region and to dispensaries. When recreational cultivators began sprouting up after I-502 passage, SPP provided some of them with their first plants.

The company’s products are now featured in retailers throughout the state, and SPP has expanded to include The Clone Zone and a more recently launched cultivation project, Rolling Farms in Arlington, Wash.

When planning began on the facility, there was no question what type of equipment would be filling out the grow space. The same environmental control system used in The Clone Zone would be used at Rolling Farms. So in 2016, Lade signed a $1 million contract with Surna to outfit the facility.

“You’ve got to have a clean environment,” Lade says. “I like the Surna system, because I have sealed rooms. I don’t introduce fresh air, [and] it eliminates contaminants, molds, mildews, different spores that can get in through a fresh-air intake system. The system allows me to just seal the rooms. That means we have to cool them, dehumidify them at times and then also supplement with CO₂.”

Using a water-cooled HVAC system, Lade keeps his sealed grow rooms at 80 degrees—with 60-percent humidity. Those chillers allow him to reap the full benefits of sealing his facility from the outside world and fine-tuning his climate control metrics as needed.

“I really like the sealed rooms,” he adds. “Also, my neighbors really like the sealed rooms, because it doesn’t smell like weed outside of our grow. It’s a huge consideration.”

Last April, SPP completed the construction and moved plants into the Rolling Farms indoor grow with a full edibles kitchen.

According to 502data.com, SPP sales have more than quadrupled since August last year. Lade tells Cannabis Business Times that February 2018 saw $1.9 million in sales. SPP has captured “61 percent” of the Washington extract market, as of February, he says.

Later this year, Lade says his company will double its canopy in Arlington with a new 55,000-square-foot project approved by the city and the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.

“We’re looking to expand our presence on the flower market,” Lade says. “We really focused initially on the extracts. This year, we’ll be putting out a lot more flower than we ever have in the past.”

“We’re just getting started,” he adds. “We have big plans for the future.”