By Garrett Rudolph
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Not only does Fairwinds Manufacturing create some of the most unique cannabis-related products on the market, but its approach to utilizing technology and cutting-edge equipment also sets it apart from other companies.
Fairwinds owner James Hull said he jumped at the opportunity to build a business that tied everything he’s learned through a lifetime of working with plants and technology. By trade, he’s a mechanical engineer, but his upbringing and family background helped him become a self-taught horticulturist.
“The idea that I could design and build a legal cannabis cultivation and processing facility with state of the art and unrivaled technology blew my mind and really got my ‘Type-A’ blood pumping,” Hull said.
Consumers might recognize Fairwinds for its vape cartridges, coconut oil-based tinctures and cannabis-infused coffees that come in either pod form or individual bags of ground joe. But those that are interested in the production aspect of the industry are probably more intrigued by the Tier 2 producer/processor’s facility.
It features computer monitored and controlled systems throughout the building. The electrical system designed in-house allows for control of the entire facility either locally or remotely through a PC, tablet or cell phone. That includes the lights, nutrient delivery system, CO2 supplementation, heating and cooling, dehumidification system, water treatment and air purification. It’s also set up to send alarm notifications via text messages anytime something goes wrong.
Fairwinds puts two certified commercial kitchens to good use, as well as multiple high-volume extraction machines. Other features include multiple isolated, sealed grow rooms built to ISO 7 clean room standards, zero VOC paint on all surfaces and extensive HPEA and carbon filtration systems.
“Typically as technology increases, so does quality, repeatability, consistency and efficiency,” Hull said of his approach. “This will become a very competitive market and the ability to produce the highest-quality product at the lowest price will be imperative to survival,” he said.
Hull has taken a similar approach with Fairwinds’ 10 employees, bringing in people with unique skill sets to handle the growing, extractions and product development. Among his staff are employees with degrees in horticulture, botany, bio-chemistry, chemistry and micro-biology.