Aphria Inc. (TSX: APH and US OTC: APHQF) today announced that the company's Board of Directors approved a $55 million capital project to build a state-of-the-art Extraction Centre of Excellence in Leamington, ON. The facility will be equipped to conduct a wide range of cannabis extractions, including C02, butane and ethanol, and produce world-class cannabis concentrates, including fractionated distillates. Construction of the new Extraction Centre of Excellence is expected to begin immediately and the facility is scheduled to release its first concentrates by March 2019.
Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria, said, "The Extraction Centre of Excellence will give Aphria a significant competitive advantage in cannabis concentrates, which are expected to be a significant product category. This is the latest example of our continued leadership in cannabis product innovation. Aphria will further its expertise delivering unparalleled innovative products to meet consumer demand. This facility will be the centre of industry-leading R&D and commercial production of next generation cannabis concentrate products."
The custom designed facility will house two Class 1/Division 1 extraction rooms as well as production, packaging facilities and will have the capacity to process in excess of 200,000 kgs of cannabis annually.
Additional Operational Updates – Driving Capacity Growth and Continued Innovation
Aphria Diamond
Aphria Diamond and Aphria's Boards of Directors approved a $20 million increase to the CAPEX budget for Aphria Diamond, which will be used to further improve the technologies at the facility. It is anticipated that these improvements will increase Aphria Diamond's capacity by 20,000 kgs annually, bringing its total capacity to 140,000 kgs annually. The improvements will support alternative growing techniques, enabling Aphria to develop innovative growing processes.
Aphria One
Part V Expansion
A $10 million build out of newly constructed state of the art greenhouses on a portion of the 18-acre adjacent property acquired in late December 2017, was approved by the Board of Directors. Once operational, Part V will take advantage of key learnings from previous expansions, will be dedicated to young plant cultivation, and will lead to an overall yield increase of 10,000 kgs annually.
Combined, all operational changes noted above will result in an increased capacity of 30,000 kgs, bringing Aphria's total annualized capacity to 255,000 kgs. "We will have ample supply to fulfill our commitments under our supply agreements with provincial retail establishments across Canada and with partners like Shoppers Drug Mart. Our experience and our relentless focus on maintaining an industry leading low-cost model, allows for healthy margins across the supply chain and positions Aphria as an enviable leader in the global cannabis industry," added Mr. Neufeld.
We Have a Good Thing Growing
About Aphria
Aphria Inc., one of Canada's lowest cost producers, produces, supplies and sells medical cannabis. Located in Leamington, Ontario, the greenhouse capital of Canada, Aphria is truly powered by sunlight allowing for the most natural growing conditions available. Aphria is committed to providing pharma-grade medical cannabis, superior patient care while balancing patient economics and returns to shareholders.
For more information, visit: aphria.ca
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Aphria to build state-of-the art Extraction Centre of Excellence
