One year later, Terrapin Pennsylvania continues to see growth, plans to expand
Trending
LOCK HAVEN -- On a sun-splashed afternoon at Veteran's Park, Terrapin Pennsylvania chief executive officer Chris Woods stood at a picnic table and talked about the progress the company has made over the course of the past year.
Woods said that Terrapin Pennsylvania is currently using just 45,000 square feet of a 150,000 square foot facility, which is located along Harris Street in South Avis and has been in business around a year.
"The difference between last year and this year is that last year was a lot of planning and a lot of pain," Woods said. "This year, we're still planning and moving forward, but we're also able to see the fruits of the planning, the infrastructure and all the hard work the community did in terms of politics and the contractors building the facility out."
Woods admitted that it wasn't always smooth sailing getting Terrapin Pennsylvania up and running.
"It was really, really scary last year," he noted. "About May (2018), there was no market in Pennsylvania for medical marijuana. We're up around 130,000 patients right now. The program has been very successful. The (Pennsylvania) Department of Health has finally figured out how to regulate this."
Woods said that the Commonwealth has really stepped up in the past year.
"When we started this, there were literally two people from the Department of Health who were driving across the state doing facility inspections. It's starting to mature. The fact is that we're exceeding employment counts and planning expansion in the facility," he said.
Woods is a Pennsylvania native and Penn State graduate who grew up in Bucks County and now resides in Colorado.
As far as Clinton County and the South Avis location are concerned, Woods said it couldn't be better.
"Clinton County is the logistical hub of the state. It's the center of the state," Woods said.
He said that the reception from the county has been more than welcoming.
"We couldn't ask for a better reception -- anywhere," he said.
Terrapin Pennsylvania has more than 50 full-time employees at the $6.5 million facility, according to Woods.
"Everyone has worked really hard. We rent a house in Williamsport and people from our corporate office in Colorado are here all the time. It's good for me to go back-and-forth," Woods said. "This is a second home for us."
In addition to Terrapin Pennsylvania, Woods also oversees facilities in Michigan, Missouri and New Jersey. However, Terrapin Pennsylvania is a primary focus.
"Terrapin is a pretty well-recognized brand in the state at this point. We worked with everyone and kind of hit the market first. The demand is growing quicker than the supply and we're fortunate in that capacity," Woods said.
Pennsylvania has approximately 50 dispensaries in the state. There's also a new round of licenses being distributed throughout the state that will make numbers jump and aid in Terrapin Pennsylvania's growth.
There's competition right now and there will be more down the road. However, Terrapin Pennsylvania is ready, Woods said.
"We have a sales force that manages relationships with dispensaries and people contact us, we contact them. We want to make sure that we partner and have supply for exisiting valued clients. At one point, we had 100 percent penetration in the marketplace. At this point, we're doing our best to strategically align and just keep up with the demand for inventory," Woods said.
The closest dispensaries are in State College and Williamsport -- but that will likely change as the market expands.
"There's still room for an awful lot of growth," Woods said.
Part of that growth relies upon a well-educated Commonwealth. Terrapin Pennsylvania has been a pioneer when it comes to cannabis education, according to Woods.
"We've done a lot more education within the patient community. We're doing a lot of educational events at dispensaries, pharmacies in terms of what our product can do for their patient base. Education is a key focus. The more doctors that are available to write recommendations of what the key benefits of what medical marijuana are, the more people can get their cards," Woods said.
There are currently 21 diagnoses for which a resident can receive a medical marijuana card in Pennsylvania. It is being used to help those with everything from glaucoma to cancer.
Make no mistake about it, Woods is extremely proud of what he's been able to accomplish in such a short period of time.
"There were a lot of sleepless nights, but it has really been a team effort. It's been a successful roll out and it's a good feeling," he said.
Terrapin Pennsylvania is currently producing approximately 30 varieties of legal cannabis. That number will rise in the coming years, he said.
"We're starting a breeding room in the facility so we can propagate genetics and experiment with different varieties of cannabis that treat different ailments. We've launched a concentrate line in Colorado and we're launching a topical line right now. We make everything naturally in the facility. We make it all organically," Woods said.
With a quality product and excellent distribution methods, Woods said that growth is on the horizon -- maybe sooner than many think.
"We've added additional plants, we've added lighting technology, we've added efficiency through our packaging equipment," Woods said. "We have plans to expand the space. We have plans and we're meeting with people. We're not yet finished."