Roaming the halls of MJBizcon you hear a familiar story: You’ve got the license; now you need $8M in financing, 6 months for engineering and permitting, 8-12 months for long-lead equipment delivery, 12 months to build and you’re still hoping everything works when you flip the switch. By the time you’re operational, wholesale prices may be half what they are today.
The Waterfall Problem
Traditional facility development follows a waterfall approach: find a property, then architects, then engineers, then financing, then procurement, then construction. Each phase waits for the previous one to complete. In newly regulated markets where first movers capture 12-18 months of premium pricing before commoditization, this sequential approach kills profitability. Coordination gaps between separate vendors results in rework and costly field errors leading to extended timelines and cost overruns. Financing remains uncertain until late in the process and facilities often underperform from day one if they get done at all.
The Competitive Edge
For operators racing to capture premium pricing windows, speed and certainty determine profitability. The traditional waterfall approach—sequential handoffs, stick-built improvisation, uncertain financing—can’t compete. Collaborations have moved beyond just design-build to a more holistic multidisciplinary approach.
The AMPED Solution: Parallel Workstreams, Factory-Built Components
AMPED—a collaboration of providers of finance, design, engineering, structures, equipment, and builders—exemplifies this trend by uniting a cadre of respected industry specialists. Members include ArchSolar (manufacturer of structures and equipment), Fuss & O’Neill (100+ CEA projects), Accelerated Growth Solutions (precision HVAC), AessenseGrows (aeroponics), Tecogen (chillers and cogeneration), Lead Funding and Real Lease.
Financial Engineering
Finance comes first. Comprehensive financial modeling happens upfront, optimizing financing strategies with our lender partners. Site selection, community engagement, and permitting proceed in parallel—not delaying engineering.
Engineering and Optimization
Instead of starting from scratch, such collaborations configure and optimize pre-engineered building blocks to meet individual customized cultivation needs. Engineers match cultivation requirements to facility layouts and actual loads. HVAC systems are correctly sized—not under estimated. Electrical infrastructure matches calculated demand. This allows long lead time items like switchgear and HVAC to be ordered earlier in the project. No more waiting 6 months to spec equipment.
Factory-Built, Field-Installed: No More Stick-Built
In AMPED’s case pre-engineered components are manufactured in factory-controlled environments and installed in the field. Structures, HVAC modules, electrical assemblies—all pre-sized, tested, and ready to bolt together. No stick-built improvisation. No field modifications. No finger pointing.
The advantages are measurable:
Firmer estimates. Factory-built components have known costs. Pre-sized systems eliminate guesswork. Configuration-based budgets are realistic from day one.
Tighter installation timelines. Trained crews install proven systems they’ve deployed before. Components bolt together with precision. From concept to operational in 12-18 months versus 24-30+ traditional.
Fewer overages. Pre-integrated components eliminate field coordination failures. No change orders from design conflicts. Transparent margins throughout.
40% lower energy costs. Correctly sized systems run efficiently. No oversized equipment wasting energy or undersized systems struggling to perform.
Complete operational readiness. SOPs, compliance programs, staffing models, commissioning support—you inherit a functioning operation from day one.
Visit AMPED at MJBizCon Booth NI5523 to explore how integrated collaboration can propel your cultivation venture.
