Back row, from left, Dirk Neilsen, Director of Processing; Jason Brown, Director of Facilities; Alan Darlington, Advisor of Special Projects; Doug Wilson, Senior Director of Operations; John Fowler, Co-Founder and President of The Supreme Cannabis Company. Front row, from left, Parminder Bal, Assistant to the GM; Cailin Gehlsen, Director of Finance; Venessa Krispine, Front Line Manager Production; Rebecca Phillips, Director of Production; Lorne Lazenby, Director of Human Resources.

by Samantha Trumbley

On Wednesday March 20, 7ACRES, a division of The Supreme Cannabis Company Inc. cut the ceremonial ribbon to officially open their new east wing within its hybrid greenhouse. The new wing consists of 15 grow rooms at 10,000 square feet each for a total of 150,000 square feet and includes a new mother cloning room, a propagation room, 13 flowering rooms and a state-of-the-art irrigation room.

Venessa Krispine, Front Line Manager of Production, was happy to cut the ribbon. Krispine was one of the first employees at 7ACRES and is proud of the hard work it’s taken to get where it is now. “When I see the energy of everyone here and working so hard with the same dream, it’s really inspiring," she said. "And just to see it booming, it’s an honour to be here with everybody.”

President and Co-Founder of The Supreme Cannabis Company, John Fowler said he is excited about the new space. “Not many companies get to experience the type of growth 7ACRES has been going through in the last few years, bringing on hundreds of employees and making new jobs here in Bruce County and really creating an industry that’s becoming a global leader," he said. "We’re building something much bigger than a single business or a single community, we’re really taking part in what I think is the most exciting global economic trend of our lifetime as we see cannabis go from in the shadows and illegal to, I think in our life, we will see it legal in most countries around the world.”

7ACRES officially opened its doors in Tiverton in 2016. Upon completion of construction at the end of 2019, 7ACRES will be operating out of 440,000 square feet with 300,000 square feet of production space. 7ACRES’ targeted annual production capacity is 50,000 kilograms.

7ACRES currently employs over 500 people and is looking to bring on an additional 100 employees in the coming months. When asked if there have been challenges in finding employees, Director of Human Resources Lorne Lazenby said, "We’ve got a reputation out in the public and people are coming to us. We have such a good culture here and people enjoy working here and word gets around.”

7ACRES plans to invest approximately $70,000 into local community programs and events. “This is a people business," said Fowler. "Bruce County is a great place to do business. There’s a great work ethic here, there’s a great excitement to do new things. We were welcomed with open arms. This has really been a fantastic community that has embraced us and we are doing our best to give back.”

7ACRES General Manager Ram Davloor said the company has tripled their workforce and "rapidly expanded" infrastructure. "A moment that makes me incredibly proud of the team we have built here," he said.

7ACRES is federally licenced and Director of Production and Head Grower Rebecca Phillips credits their quality assurance program. "All of our procedures are constantly looked at and constantly updated from the best team members we have. It is in those details that will allow us to succeed beyond anyone else," she said.

7ACRES brand success has been reflected in its multiple award wins including 2018 Canadian Cannabis Awards' "Brand of the Year" and eight provincial supply agreements, where 7ACRES' product is consistently listed in the highest brand category available to recreational consumers.

When asked what the future will bring, John Fowler said, “In terms of future expansion, Supreme has an ambition to be one of the world’s leading cannabis companies and really bring the positivity of cannabis and the positive benefits of the plant to a global scale, taking what we’ve learned here in Bruce County and taking that globally.”

Last updated March 22.