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Delta Designs Equipment to Address Industry Pinch Points

A big pinch point is concentrates and finding a way to get the molecule to its purest form.

Delta Separations started off as a small company designing hydrocarbon and CO2 systems for mom and pop processors in the cannabis industry. Once recreational use was legalized in California, everything started to ramp up to an industrial scale.

Based in Santa Rosa, CA, the company started as a two-man operation with President/CTO Ben Stephens and his father. The company now employs nearly 50 people. 

Stephens comes from a background in R&D processing with Agilent Technologies. A few years ago, he discovered a need for custom carbon hydrocarbon extraction systems, started processing cannabinoids and found a new niche. Now the whole business model is ethanol processing, building upon a natural path to scalable manufacturing. 

Delta has found success by becoming one of the first equipment manufacturers to design equipment to specifically address industry pinch points. 

In an exclusive interview with CEN, Stephens says that a big pinch point is concentrates and finding a way to get the molecule to its purest form. According to Stephens, customers are after Cannabidiol (CBD), Cannabinol (CBN), Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as others. He says the cannabinoids are the target for the next wave of cannabis. 

Another pinch point is permitting. Regulators have a hard time understanding how the extraction process works, so fire marshals are looking for compliant equipment that is easier to approve. 

As a result, Delta partnered with MCC Development to create the Pro Pod a plug-and-play, compliant workspace that streamlines the permitting process. 

According to Stephens, the Pods help manufacturers skip the wait for use permits on architecture. 

Harvest is another major pinch point if you don't have the appropriate processing equipment on hand. The Pods can also be dropped into fields with a generator to process everything on site. 

Going forward, Stephens foresees major plants manufacturing operations processing millions of pounds of product.

Cannabis Equipment News (CEN) was in San Jose, CA for the 6th Annual Cannabis Business Summit & Expo to speak with equipment manufacturers about new technology.

Cannabis Business Summit & Expo is presented by the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA). More than 10,000 attendees visited 400 exhibitors and heard from 150 speakers at the show, and everyone was talking cannabis regulation, legalization and manufacturing.

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