CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SugarBud Craft Growers Corp. (TSXV: SUGR, SUGR.WT) ("SugarBud" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received cultivation, processing and medical sales licenses (the “Licenses”) from Health Canada in respect to “Phase 1A” of the Company’s fully constructed, state-of-the-art 29,800 square-foot vertical cannabis cultivation facility in Stavely, Alberta.
Operating Update
The newly licensed “Phase 1A” area of the Stavely facility includes two dedicated flower rooms and all the necessary auxiliary rooms to support an estimated annual cultivation design capacity of approximately 3,300,000 – 3,890,000 grams per year at full scale production. SugarBud will immediately commence cultivation and expects to complete its initial two harvests in December 2019, after which SugarBud intends to submit an application to Health Canada to amend the Licenses to permit cultivation in the remaining six flower rooms in Phase 1 of the facility. At full operational levels, with four layers of flowering canopy, the estimated total cultivation design capacity for Phase 1 is expected to be approximately 13,230,000 – 15,565,000 grams per year. SugarBud expects to begin construction on Phase 2 of the facility in 2020. At full scale the facility is expected to occupy approximately 98,000 square-feet of floor space encompassing core production activities such as cultivation, extraction, processing, genetic breeding, research and development, product development, packaging and distribution. Upon completion of Phase 2, SugarBud estimates that the Stavely facility will have a total cultivation design capacity of approximately 33,075,000 - 38,912,000 grams of premium cannabis annually. Phase 1 is estimated to cost approximately $22.2 million with four layers of flowering canopy. Of this amount, approximately $11.7 million remains to be deployed to complete Phase 1 of the facility. The Company must access additional capital funding to complete Phase 1 through a combination of debt, equity and convertible securities. The Company will commence construction of Phase 2 when capital permits.
Mr. John Kondrosky, Chief Executive Officer of SugarBud, stated: “Receipt of our Licenses from Health Canada is a pivotal milestone for the Company and a major catalyst for our business. I would like to personally thank each and every member of the SugarBud team, including our consultants, for their diligence, effort and commitment over the past year. It was a tremendous effort by everyone involved. As a premium product provider, focused on quality, product leadership and customer satisfaction, we believe that the heart and soul of everything we do starts with what we grow. We cannot wait to officially launch that mission and deliver on that promise. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our investors and shareholders for their ongoing support as we continue to execute on our high-impact business plan.”
Corporate Update
SugarBud is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Bradley K. Giblin CA, CFA as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective September 9th, 2019. Mr. Giblin has more than 18 years of experience in finance, business development, corporate strategy and accounting roles. Mr. Giblin holds Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA CA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations. Prior to SugarBud, Mr. Giblin was Chief Financial Officer of Mount Bastion Oil and Gas Corp., a high growth energy company that was acquired by Surge Energy Inc. for $320 million, a 2x return on investment in a two-year timeframe. Mr. Giblin also led a successful IPO of Maha Energy Inc. on the First North Nasdaq market in Sweden, as well as performing other high impact roles as Chief Financial Officer in publicly traded, start-up companies. Mr. John Kondrosky stated: "Brad brings tremendous experience and leadership to a critical role for SugarBud and I am very pleased to welcome him to our team.”
SugarBud would like to announce that Mr. Craig Kolochuk, co-founder, President and a Director of the Company, has for personal reasons, stepped down as President and a Director effective today. However, Mr. Kolochuk will continue to contribute to the organization as a Special Advisor to the Company on matters of business development, corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Kondrosky will assume the role of President in the interim.
“Craig has done a phenomenal job in his time at SugarBud following the February 2018 recapitalization of the Company overseeing the construction of the Stavely facility and preparing SugarBud for licensing. I look forward to working closely with Craig in his new capacity to advance SugarBud's vision and mission as we enter a new and critical phase of our growth,” said Mr. Kondrosky.
Mr. Dan Wilson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SugarBud, stated: "The management team of SugarBud, led by Craig Kolochuk, have been instrumental in positioning the Company to receive its Licenses from Health Canada. SugarBud will continue to benefit from Craig's experience in building high-growth, publicly traded companies.”
About SugarBud
SugarBud is a federally licensed Alberta-based publicly traded cannabis company focused on the cultivation and production of high-quality premium cannabis, and product leadership through the development, production and distribution of value-added cannabis products in Canada.
John Kondrosky
Chief Executive Officer
SugarBud Craft Growers Corp.
Phone: (604) 499-7847
E-mail: johnk@sugarbud.ca Dan Wilson
Interim Chief Financial Officer
SugarBud Craft Growers Corp.
Phone: (403) 874-9862
E-mail: danw@su
