Blog – McMurray Stern

Cannabis: Grow vertical and make the most of your space

Written by Randy | Jan 12, 2021 5:02:14 PM

Vertical Growing Increases Efficiency & Yield at Cannabis Operation

By investing in a mobile vertical growing system, a legal cannabis growing operation found a way to increase yields with less space.

23 states have now legalized marijuana use in some form — 19 for medical use and four for both recreational and medical use, and the trend seems to be spreading. In fact, legal cannabis is the fastest-growing industry in the United States, growing 75% between 2013 and 2014. Reports show that if the trend continues and all 50 states legalized marijuana for recreational use, marijuana could become a bigger industry than organic food.

Valuable Floor Space

With such rapid growth in the states where marijuana is legal, warehouse space used to grow marijuana indoors is at a premium. The heavy demand has nearly doubled – and at times even quadrupled – the cost of leasing warehouse space in the past three years in Denver, CO. where this particular grow space is located. The average cost of industrial space in Denver has risen from about $4.00 per square foot to up to $18.00 per square foot for prime locations.

Grow Vertical save energy and space. Click the button to download this case study and learn more about how we can recover valuable floor space in your cannabis grow facility…

Increase Yield

To create better yields, all the plants need uniform access to the lights, but spreading them out horizontally increases the number of lights and amount of space needed, creating an immensely inefficient use of space and energy. As the legal marijuana market matures, increased competition and outside investment is pushing cannabis growers to make their operations more efficient.

These costs and concerns were what drove one new grower, Colorado’s Best, to look for new options. After hearing about the “green rush” in Colorado, Jeremy Heidl and his wife moved to Colorado in 2010 to get a start in the budding industry.

Wasted space brings vertical growing to forefront

Heidl and his founding team already had a growing operation in a warehouse space, but with its horizontal layout, there was a large amount of wasted space — and money. This expensive space was already being heated and ventilated, but not fully utilized. Heidl brought the idea of vertical growing back to the group. “I thought of a doctor’s office type of filing cabinet where the files moved together and I wondered if there was anyone doing that with industrial shelving,” Heidl said. It wasn’t long before they discovered high density mobile storage systems and how they could maximize the use of their existing space. Want to read the rest? Click here to download this case study…Our high density mobile storage systems can quickly increase your bottom line by reclaiming valuable floor space and making room for additional revenue generating activities. Isn’t it time for your company to grow and maximize capabilities? Click here to download this case study…