This Colorado hemp firm is overhauling its operations to achieve ‘extraordinary growth’

Colorado hemp firm CBDRx LLC, now under new executive leadership, is selling its small hemp farm in Longmont and building out a new production facility as part of a broader restructuring of its operations.

Article by Alicia Wallace

“We’re launching what I call CBDRx 2.0,” said Tim Gordon, who was named CEO earlier this month after a shakeup in management at the firm that makes hemp oil, derivatives and finished products.

In addition to a multi-acre greenhouse in Pueblo,CBDRx is building a 6,500-square-foot facility east of Longmont in Weld County that will house a laboratory, offices and food-grade production, he said. Adjoining the facility will be greenhouse operations to produce high-yield plants, company officials announced Monday.

The new facility will allow CBDRx to manufacture a variety of white-label and private-label hemp-based oil, foods, topicals and other finished products in addition to its own lines of products, he added. The private- and white-label partnerships would be new ventures for the firm, he said.

“We’re starting to see a lot of interest, especially for products in the natural foods area,” he said.

The facility is expected to come online and start churning out products by early 2017, he said, adding that he already is looking to 2020 and beyond by developing a multi-use cultivar with a high level of cannabinoids, a “crazy amount” of seeds, and strong fibers that could be used for non-woven textiles.

As part of the restructuring, which included the termination of three executive positions, Gordon and the board added executives Susan Squibb, to lead lab and production operations; and Preston Whitfield, to lead sales. The company’s board was looking to change directions and go beyond the idea of “plant it, and they will come,” Gordon said. (Disclosure: Squibb is a freelance contributor to The Cannabist.)

“There are 60 years of combined experience between myself, Susan and Preston; we’ve seen the ins and outs of the industry,” he said. “We bring a lot of legitimacy, a lot of quality and consistency and just transparency to this industry.”

In a statement released Monday, CBDRx’s board championed the changes.

“Tim Gordon’s restructuring has been approved unanimously by the board,” Dawn Ballard, a CBDRx board member, said in a news release. “We are confident that with the improvements, CBDRx will continue its extraordinary growth and success.”

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