Client 1, Exponential ROI With 3 Year Case Study

At Urth & Fyre, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional consulting and strategy services that drive real results for our clients in the cannabis industry. One of our most impactful projects involved our work with the client #1. From August 2021 to the present, we've helped Client 1 transform their cultivation operations, leading to substantial improvements in yield, efficiency, and profitability.

Background

Industry: Controlled Environment Agriculture
Brands: Client 1 - Top 3 brand in Nevada (BDSA, Headset)
Facility: 69k ft² with ~15,800k ft² canopy (flower: ~13,200 ft², vegetative: ~2,600 ft²)
Lighting: 806 1000w HPS for flowering, 152 1000e MH for vegetative, totaling 958 lights and 958k watts
Harvest Cycle: 56 days flower, 1 day harvest, 1 day clean, 1 day load, averaging 6.19 harvests/year

Challenges

Client 1 faced several challenges that hindered their growth and profitability:

• Limited and inconsistent biomass output
• High microbial failure rates
• Excessive cost per gram of production
• Tenant improvements and facility design issues

Goals

Our primary goals were to:

• Increase operational efficiencies
• Enhance profitability
• Ensure consistent and high-quality yields
• Address and rectify facility design and operational bottlenecks

Our Approach

Trevor Christensen, founder of Urth & Fyre, led a comprehensive strategy that included:

1. Facility Design and Tenant Improvements:
   • Optimized environmental ratios, lighting, latent load, sensible load, irrigation, fertigation, airflow, benching, controls, sensors, and plant density.
   • Conducted facility audits and established continual maintenance programs.
   • Implemented robust inventory management, biosecurity, and cleaning/sanitization protocols.
   • Automated post-harvest processes and designed efficient dry and cure rooms.
2. Operational Enhancements:
   • Developed and validated standard operating procedures (SOPs) and validation sheets.
   • Introduced post-harvest automation to streamline processes.

Results

The results of hiring Urth & Fyre and Trevor Christensen's expertise were transformative:

Yield Improvements:

• 2021: 4,551 lbs (27.7 g/ft²)
• 2022: 9,782 lbs (59.5 g/ft²)
• 2023: 8,822 lbs (46.2 g/ft²) **Tenant Improvement decreased harvests/year by 33%**
• ‍2024: 11,800 lbs (66.3 g/ft²) **Light intensity restricted to 600 umol**

Microbial Pass Rates:

• 2021: 69%
• 2022: 63%
• 2023: 84% with outliers FEB @ 44%, MAR @9%, 96% pass final 8 months
• 2024: 95%

THC Content:

• 2021: 19.4%
• 2022: 19.9%
• 2023: 18.6%
• 2024: 20.5%

Cost to Produce per Gram:

• 2021: $3.78
• 2022: $1.62
• 2023: $1.77
• 2024: $1.12

Labor Cost Reduction:

• 2021: $890,000
• 2022: $677,000
• 2023: $543,000
• 2024: $457,000

Financial Impact:

• 2021: Loss of $2,949,203
• 2022: Loss of $438,288
• 2023: Loss of $1,080,855
• 2024: Profit of $1,080,885

Capital Expenditure (CAPEX): $435,000
ROI: 985%
Payback Period: 1.83 years
IRR: 118%

When Client 1 engaged with Urth & Fyre, they faced numerous operational challenges that hampered their profitability and efficiency. Trevor Christensen, with his extensive knowledge and strategic vision, meticulously planned every aspect of the facility redesign and operational improvements. From optimizing environmental ratios to implementing cutting-edge technologies and processes, Trevor's hands-on approach ensured that every detail was fine-tuned for maximum efficiency and yield.

The results speak for themselves. Client 1 saw dramatic improvements in yield, microbial pass rates, and THC content, along with significant cost reductions. Trevor's expertise in facility design and operational management was instrumental in transforming Client 1's cultivation operations, leading to remarkable financial and operational success.

Client Testimonial

"I’ve had the good fortune to work with Trevor for close to three years. It’s exceptionally difficult to find highly skilled and reliable people that now how to design or fix a cultivation facility.  Trevor has played a vital role in the transformation of our cultivation asset in Nevada. It’s a very math science and data driven approach, and every single one of his recommendations that we have implemented has succeeded."
— Management Team

For a FREE facility profitability assessment and Biosecurity SOP, email us at trevor@urthandfyre.com

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