Hoosier Hemp Processor Operational, Growing
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BDX uses high-pressed CO2 to extract CBD oils from hemp. (photo courtesy: Wes Mills)
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A technician tests for CBD purity (photo courtesy: BDX)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowJust over a year since first discussing the idea of building a hemp processing plant to produce cannabidiol concoctions, Westfield-based BDX is now operational and producing a variety of CBD products.
The company says it has invested $10 million and hired 15 people to get to this point in its business plan.
The 12,000-square-foot structure was an empty shell when BDX started building-out the facility in January. By April, CBD extraction was underway.
“It’s been a labor of love,” said BDX Vice President Jeff Chinn in an interview with Inside INdiana Business. “Over the last year, we’ve been able to conceive our business, go out and obtain technology, and begin our customer base. That’s a real success story in Indiana.”
CBD is used by some people for treating different types of chronic pain. BDX Chief Executive Officer Ken Thieneman, who has a background in construction and engineering, said he benefitted from personal use of CBD, prompting him to investigate the idea of creating a hemp oil extraction company.
CBD is derived directly from the hemp plant, which is a cousin of the marijuana plant. It lacks tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in marijuana which makes people feel “high.”
Indiana’s regulations require testing to verify the hemp crop is below the threshold of 0.3% THC level. Chinn said federal regulatory oversight of the industry is not so clear.
“The CBD business is highly fragmented, and it’s very unregulated,” said Chinn. “The Food and Drug Administration has not come down and clarified how this product is viewed by the government.”
BDX does not sell retail, rather it is an ingredient supplier. BDX partners with other companies, such as healthcare product manufacturers, who may want to add CBD formulations to their product lines, like lotions, gels, and aerosols.
“We have had to establish a self-governance policy. Instead of working to a set of rules, we’ve had to set our own rules; what kind of purity rules, what kind of quality rules, how we package our goods. It gave us an opportunity for us to set us apart from other companies.”
The Westfield facility has enough production capacity to process 750,000 pounds of hemp annually. Chinn said that boils down to about 15,000 kilograms of CBD products which could be turned into anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 consumer products.
“We can process enough hemp to satisfy about half of the nation’s current need,” said Chinn.
BDX invited the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Bruce Kettler, and select members of the media for a behind-the-scenes tour of the biotech firm.
“When we think of about the CBD industry, we’re just starting to scratch the surface. I think they (BDX) are setting a tremendous example not only for Indiana but the U.S. of what can be for these efforts,” said Kettler.
Chinn said the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. have been very supportive of BDX’s growth.
“When you think about Indiana’s emphasis on life sciences, biosciences, engineering, and fundamental business entrepreneurship, we’re at a nexus like none other in the country,” said Chinn. “It’s one of the great opportunities that led us to this point.”
The Office of the Indiana State Chemist, which oversees hemp growing regulations, said approximately 7,000 acres of hemp were planted this year in Indiana. The office is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to finalize state regulations of commercial production of the crop.
Kettler said BDX is an example of bioscience companies that Indiana is trying to attract.
“We can talk all day about how we grow hemp, but then in order to extract products, you need to have that science piece,” said Kettler. “As we witness here, there’s a tremendous amount of science, and how that relates to life sciences. We want more companies like this here.”
An industry still in its infancy, with a government regulatory environment still under development, BDX said it wants to be the industry model.
“Every day we have a new challenge. We just roll up our sleeves. We put our minds together and solve it,” said Chinn. “We’re halfway through our journey compared to where we’ll be in a couple of years. We have good clay to work with in terms of the people who work here.”
BDX Vice President Jeff Chinn says the state has been very supportive in getting this company online.