August 22, 2018 00:15 ET | Source: Maricann Group Inc.
TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maricann Group Inc. (CSE:MARI) (FRANKFURT: 75M) (OTCQB:MRRCF) (“Maricann” or the “Company) is pleased to provide an update to the market regarding the Company’s hemp operations in Germany.
On August 3rd, 2018, Maricann’s European nutraceutical subsidiary MariPlant, commenced the harvest of approximately 165 hectares (~405 acres) of hemp. The Company planted five approved cultivars included in the European Union list of approved hemp. This inaugural harvest utilized new proprietary harvesting and drying systems, designed to optimize yield from industrial hemp.
Maricann used German ingenuity and engineering to develop harvesting equipment that separates the upper portion of the plant from the stalk at the time of harvest in the field. This reduces labour costs and ensures the quality and integrity of the plant. The hemp flowers are then taken directly in a food grade truck to an inline drying system custom designed and manufactured in Germany for Mariplant that is capable of drying up to 50,000 kg of wet hemp flowers per day. The system then separates the flowers and remaining trim to create dry ground hemp flower, immediately ready for extraction.
Maricann test controlled the hemp harvest by selecting a 4-hectare (9,88 acres) plot for hand harvest, with similar yields and results to its automated harvesting process. Output so far exceeds expectations. From the 4-hectare plot almost 3,000 kg of dried material have been collected. Final product CBD content is expected to vary between the different strains, providing sampling for next year’s crop. Third party extraction in Germany commenced on August 21, 2018.
Maricann is a vertically integrated producer and distributor of cannabis for medical purposes. The Company was founded in 2013 and is based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada and Munich, Germany, with production facilities in Langton, Ontario where it operates a medicinal cannabis cultivation, extraction, formulation and distribution business under federal licence from the Government of Canada. The Company also has production operations in Dresden, Saxony, Germany and Regensdorf, Switzerland. Maricann is currently undertaking an expansion of its cultivation and support facilities in Canada in a 942,000 sq. ft. (87,515 sq. m) and will continue to pursue new opportunities in Europe.