Apr 6, 2022
Editor’s note: The following article includes information from an interview between Agritecture and William Fournier, Vertical Farming Research and Development Expert at Montel, and Owner of Mauve-et-Herbes.
Cannabis has long held the spotlight in the vertical farming industry. Even the Covid-19 pandemic couldn’t make a dent in this booming industry’s growth.
According to Fortune Business Insights’ data analysis, during the trying year of 2020, the cannabis market “exhibited a stellar growth of 50.92%.”
With countries and states beginning to legalize the recreational sale of cannabis, the industry shows no signs of slowing down. In expecting the industry to grow 7x by 2028, entrepreneurs are rushing to set up their own cannabis facilities with prospects of high-profit margins.
Meet William Fournier, a master cannabis grower based in Québec, Canada.
At 37, Fournier already has over 2 decades of experience in horticultural production. Growing cannabis since his teenage years, within the walls of his own house, he has developed a fascination for this crop, particularly in utilizing indoor hydroponic systems. His hands-on experience working in grow shops is complemented by his theoretical knowledge from degrees in horticulture technologies and landscape architecture.
This well-rounded background prepared him for setting up his own commercially-licensed cannabis facility, Mauve-et-Herbes. In kickstarting his own operations and working with thousands of growers to improve their own facilities, Fournier knows the challenges of cannabis production and facility design better than most.
With this knowledge, the master grower is not only harnessing the cannabis industry’s market potential, he’s also setting up pathways for success for early-stage entrepreneurs by working with Dutch liquid fertilizer company CANNA in product development and technical support, doing consultancy work in facility design and cannabis licenses, and being an ambassador and vertical farming expert for industry leader Montel.
It was in the “early golden days” of this industry boom that Fournier first connected with the Montel team at MJBizCon in Las Vegas.
Back in 2017, Montel was in the early stages of pioneering vertical and mobile racking systems, bringing their expertise in mobile shelving systems to the vertical farming market. Fournier immediately recognized this as a game-changing model that was an unrivaled product in terms of its spatial efficiency and ease of use.
“Ergonomically, it's the best thing that you can use as a grower,” Fournier states unequivocally. This enhanced user experience greatly impacts a grower’s comfort level in daily operations and thus their time effectiveness.
Additionally, the track system that replaces fixed rolling benches is one of the biggest selling points of the design. “I've seen so many greenhouses and grow rooms where [as a grower] you're squeezed in tight between your plants and your table.” Moving about in these spaces is “not efficient or comfortable.” Giving extra attention to such design components, Montel’s racking systems allow the grower to effectively double their growth canopy.
“This is the way to do it!” - William Fournier, Vertical Farming Research and Development Expert at Montel
So, when Fournier decided to start his own facility, he just had to have Montel’s growing racks. “I could optimize the flowering room ratio with the vegetative rooms, and go higher than previously imagined to give enough workspace for my staff and enough canopy space to fill out all the rooms.”
The resulting facility is multifunctional and highly efficient. Focusing exclusively on cannabis production, it is comprised of an outdoor field and an indoor space making use of the GREENRAK mobile growing racks. The indoor setup has a glasshouse roof structure with light deprivation tarps, which can be removed to make use of natural light or to let out heat and humidity when necessary. This means the space can typically be cooled without the use of a mechanical cooling system. With this, Fournier can run his farm like an indoor grow room but still have the option to use sunlight or expel heat.
One downside of the system is that heating during the winter can be slightly more expensive, but the versatility of the model means that Fournier can fine-tune the process to be as efficient as possible for his production needs.
Using a double-tier grow rack system in a greenhouse for cannabis production is fairly uncommon in the Canadian market, so Mauve-et-Herbes finds itself in a unique position. What really helped tackle this challenge is Montel’s willingness to go one step further and draw up 3D sketches to help Fournier “visualize his farm and see if there was any glitch” before finalizing his layout. The level of support and quality of service offered by Montel were also highlights of the process for Fournier.
Having just undertaken his first planting day in March, the results of this unique design will soon be brought to fruition.
Perhaps most importantly, its high level of adaptability means that the facility can evolve as it needs to, depending on how the farm grows and changes.
Beyond this project, Fournier is working with Montel to discover new ways the company can help growers run their operations more efficiently. The partnership recently resulted in a smart tray feature to fit into Montel’s existing grow racks. This creation upgrades the functionality of Montel’s racks to make the drainage process much simpler for the grower.
They have also developed a new “universal light support system,” by which Montel is working with multiple LED manufacturers to allow lighting fixtures to be smoothly integrated with their racking systems. This clip-on system works in tandem with the smart drain to provide a design that is more compact and secure, as well as being customizable to the specific needs of any growing space.
This easy adaptability means that, in his own facility, Fournier can continue doing what he loves: growing with an experimental approach - utilizing different combinations of LEDs, growing media, and fertilizers, without issue.
Looking to the future, Fournier envisions a focus on producing small-batch craft-dried cannabis flowers of the highest quality. He is also keen to continue developing new genetic variants of the crop. While cannabis production is likely to remain his top priority over the coming years, he is also open to the idea of producing other crops, particularly microgreens and mushrooms, in a new facility.
“Montel has a great structure for this kind of production,” he says, due to their focus on adaptability and quality. He has been able to work with Montel to innovate in the realm of cannabis production, while also keeping the door open to potentially explore other avenues in the world of CEA as his business grows.
