Fourth Gen Cannabis joins Coaldale’s rapidly expanding business community
As part of their strategic plan passed at the beginning of the term, Coaldale Council set out to shed the Town’s “bedroom community” image by putting resources and policies in place designed to promote economic growth. As a result, Coaldale’s business community has been expanding at a significant rate over the past few years. Fourth Gen Cannabis is one such business, a cannabis grower and supplier for the legal recreational market.
“Coaldale’s industrial park had a strong appeal when looking for places to locate our business,” said Broek Murray, Co-Owner of Fourth Gen Cannabis. “We checked out quite a few lots in different municipalities around the area – Coaldale checked off our boxes in terms of having lower commercial tax rates than neighbouring communities, combined with high services levels, access to quality labour, and lower crime rates. The location right on two major highways was also hard to beat.”
Officially licensed in March 2021, Fourth Gen has already successfully completed two full harvests.
“Our operation is based around precision and accuracy,” said Alex Zaeri, Master Grower at Fourth Gen Cannabis. “It’s a highly technical process to make sure each batch is consistent with the last so retailers and consumers know what they’re getting each time. We also have to make sure we can maximize the output of each plant we grow so no resources are wasted.”
“As a new industry there are lots of rules and regulations instituted by Health Canada,” added Livio Pavan, who holds the regulatory title of “Responsible Person” at Fourth Gen Cannabis. “We’re extremely diligent at making sure our business is compliant with regulations. Our operations are tightly controlled and monitored which is a reflection both of our own operation as well as the standard to which this industry is held.”
Fourth Gen Cannabis also takes great care to run a sustainable operation.
“We use coconut cubes in replacement of soil for growing our plants, which gives us greater accuracy for growing our strains,” said Zaeri. “As an added bonus, the coconut acts as a natural pest control; It’s healthier and safer for our employees who work in close quarters with the plants.”
Fourth Gen currently has 7 employees and has plenty of room to expand their operations, with room for multiple additional facilities as their business takes off.
“The thing that really stands out to me when I visit Fourth Gen is that their operation looks like a laboratory; it’s extremely clean and dependent on technology and innovation,” said Cam Mills, Manager of Economic Development and Strategic Initiatives for the Town of Coaldale. “There’s still a significant stigma for some folks surrounding cannabis use and so it’s important for the general public to understand how tightly this business is operated, controlled, and regulated.”