Marijuana Business Magazine January 2020

Marijuana Business Magazine | January 2019 98 engineers to let them know what you’re actually doing with their equipment,” he added. Get Great Customer Support Extraction machines break. Pumps go out. The rotary evaporator stops working. And any time the machine is down means lost production and lost money. Therefore, it’s imperative that the manufacturer provide stellar customer support. “If you break a piece of glass or a motor goes out and you need a replacement part the next day, you want to hope they know what you’re talking about,” Aieta said. “Time is very important.” Robson said his company expects a lot of support. “The least amount of downtime possible is greatly appreciated on our end,” he added. Some parts are more prone to wearing out, and Robson expects his manufacturer to have those parts on standby so that a pump can be replaced within 24 hours if it stops working. “Customer service is a big thing in my book,” Durmer said. He expects to have an open line of communication with the manufacturer’s tech department. Even better is to select reliable equipment up front. Reputation Speaks Volumes One way to find out if a manufacturer is worth its salt is to ask around. Word-of-mouth travels far in a tight-knit community such as the cannabis industry. According to Durmer, the state of Colorado does a pretty good job vet- ting manufacturers and provides a list of approved manufacturing compa- nies for extraction firms. The approved equipment providers have all gone through a third-party peer review. Another option would be to search online extraction forums such as Future 4200, which is a lively discussion venue for those in the extraction sector to share concerns and information. Robson said he expects to be allowed to visit an operational facility to see a machine in action before purchasing it. “If people aren’t willing to give you recommendations of companies that are using it, I wouldn’t be buying it,” he said. And be wary of any company that overpromises. “You get what you pay for,” Robson said. “We’ve tried to find cost-effective measures. It didn’t work.” Preventative Maintenance Select a company that will provide adequate training on how to maintain the machine, including a detailed operator’s manual. Expect the manufacturer to clearly detail how often a machine needs to be cleaned. Some devices have five parts that need to be disassembled and cleaned; others have 10. A shorter amount of cleaning time between lots is better. An extraction company should “absolutely” expect help with training for ongoing maintenance, according to Robson. He’s been running certain manufacturers’ machines seven days a week for the past year and hasn’t had an issue yet, but that doesn’t mean one isn’t coming. “You’re going to have a problem,” Robson said. “It’s inevitable.” Bart Schaneman covers cultivation and extraction for Marijuana Business Magazine. Reach him at barts@mjbizdaily.com . Colorado-based Spherex bought more capacity than needed for its CO 2 extraction system and is slowly growing into it. Courtesy Photo Photo Courtesy of Denver Dab Co.