UPDATE - ColorPoint KY to Fully Convert 1.8 Million Square Foot Kentucky Greenhouse Operation for Hemp Production, Merges Operations With AgTech Scientific


PARIS, Ky., May 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ColorPoint KY, has transitioned to become a hemp only company and has merged operations with AgTech Scientific of Paris, KY. The fully vertically integrated hemp company will immediately become a leader of outdoor and indoor grown quality hemp products. The operations have been granted both a Hemp Grower License and Hemp Processor License from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

The companies met in 2017 and later formed a business relationship to produce clones beginning with the 2019 outdoor farming season. Additionally, a successful beta test of an indoor hemp grow in late 2018 led to a supply agreement between the companies that included agricultural processing, clones and an indoor grow during the summer season.

ColorPoint had been researching alternative crops for numerous years and after careful consideration approached AgTech Scientific in early 2019 to accelerate their relationship. The parties agreed that it was best to move forward with a merger of operations and to convert the entire greenhouse to premium hemp products.

Indoor Greenhouse & Facility Highlights:

  • 1,837,847 sq. ft. Greenhouse including 145,182 sq. ft. of production and shipping facilities
  • Modern, hi-tech greenhouse with full concrete floors, ebb and flood floor system and operable roof
  • Agricultural processing center, drying, stripping and milling of over 100,000 plants per day
  • Experienced management team with 113 fulltime employees and over 340 workers at peak season
  • Fully computerized root to shelf tracking
  • Successful test of indoor grown hemp completed
  • Able to produce over 200,000 cuttings per day
  • Production and indoor grown hemp 24/7 - 365 days per year
  • More than 100 tractor trailers with an experienced logistics team

Outdoor Farming

  • Projection of 5,000,000+ clones to be planted in 2019 on more than 1,500 acres in Central KY. Farms average less than 15 miles from the indoor greenhouse facility
  • CBD crop with high yields based on past performance
  • Less risk, more opportunity for farmers with guaranteed payouts throughout the season
  • Detailed SOP program to ensure compliance and consistency with farm coordinators and managers in the field
  • Fleet of more than 100 trailers (many are refrigerated) to ensure timely logistics during the planting and harvest season
  • All 2018 Farmers are shareholders of the company

Extraction & Manufacturing Facility

  • Ground-breaking was October 2018, projected opening of August 2019
  • 50,000 sq. feet, built to GMP standards
  • Located in the Bourbon County Business Park on 10 acres of industrial land, 15 minutes from the indoor greenhouse facility
  • Ethanol based extraction, original biomass input of 2000 lbs/day scaling up to 14,000 lbs/day in Q2/2020
  • Engineered and developed by a team of experienced industry professionals
  • Continuous production 24/7 – 365 days a year
  • Funded in part with community support by local and state grants

ColorPoint Co-President, Art VanWingerden stated, “Today is a great day for the company, our employees and our families. The strength of our unique approach and partnership with local farmers, combined with our indoor grow capabilities and our vertical extraction integration, places ColorPoint and AgTech in position to take a leadership role in the emerging U.S. hemp industry.”

AgTech Scientific Director of Communications Jessica Scott added, “The announcement today is the big next step for the hemp industry. AgTech and ColorPoint are committed to their people, appreciated by everyone, especially farmers. I have been in the industry for numerous years and I am more excited about the future today than ever before.” 

About ColorPoint

ColorPoint, established in 2001, has grown to become the sixth largest commercial greenhouse operation in the United States producing over 80 Million high quality bedding plants for big box retailers in the Midwest.  ColorPoint’s core strengths are producing high quality plants and tracking production and plant performance from root to shelf. These attributes, combined with an experienced growing team, logistic strengths and a premier industry management group have created an unparalleled ability to deliver superior products. ColorPoint, as of May 2019, has fully committed all operations to the production of quality indoor and outdoor hemp derived products.

For more information:

Steve Sloan
Vice President of Business Development for ColorPoint
steve.s@ColorPoint.us

About AgTech Scientific

The company was founded in 2015 by a small group of Canadians as a pet food research project. After an extensive search which concluded in early 2017, Paris, Kentucky was chosen as the company’s new home base due to local and state leadership within the hemp industry. AgTech, partnering with local farmers, grew over 80 acres of hemp in 2018 during the successful season. The company broke ground on a 50,000 square foot GMP standard manufacturing and extraction facility in October 2018 with a projected opening of August 2019. AgTech has partnered with ColorPoint, (the 6th largest commercial U.S. greenhouse) on numerous projects since 2018 and has merged operations with ColorPoint as of May 2019. The company has farm agreements in 2019 for 1500 prime acres and will grow 5,000,000+ plants. The 1,800,000 square foot next generation indoor hemp grow is expected to commence in June 2019 with continuous production, year after year.

For more information:

Jessica Scott
Director of Corporate Communications
jessica@agtechscientific.com

Safe Harbor
Certain statements herein relating to the Company constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, business plans and/or objectives, sales programs, forecasts and projections, assumptions, expectations, and/or beliefs of future performance, are “forward-looking statements”. Such “forward-looking statements” involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to commercial operations, including production and/or sales of medical marijuana, quantities of future medical marijuana production, anticipated revenues in connection with such sales, the overall projected size of the market, completion and/or expansion of production facilities, and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of production not yet determinable, and other key management assumptions. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and involve risk and uncertainties relating to the Company’s historical experience with regulatory changes, timeliness of government approvals for the granting of permits and licenses, changes in medical marijuana prices, actual operating performance of facilities, and other uninsured risks. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward- looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. Contents are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction. The information in this news release is qualified in its entirety. 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0a64b9c1-1964-4079-8f8e-336b15efcdca

ColorPoint greenhouses, Paris, KY