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Harold Bouchard: Making Perfect Pre-Rolls for Small Cannabis Operators

These machines were made for smaller cannabis operators who need to automate pre-roll production but don't have the capital

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In July 2022, Harold Bouchard, president and CEO of PreRoll-Er and Procepack, joined the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his award-winning pre-roll automation that can make up to 1,000 high-quality pre-rolls per hour with a single operator. 

Today, Bouchard is back to make some new announcements that he hopes will open up his pre-roll automation technology to smaller cannabis operators. 

As Bouchard traveled to cannabis shows this year, customers were interested in his pre-roll tech but couldn't afford the company's large machines. So Bouchard took it upon himself to build a machine that suited these operators who didn't have the volume or capital to justify a big machine.

His biggest offering, the PreRoll-Er 200, was built with a modular design that he scaled down to create the PreRoll-Er 50, a semi-automatic machine outfitted with the company's proprietary tumbler and weighing technology. 

Bouchard's machines are designed for manufacturing a joint that burns evenly to offer a consistent experience for the user. They create a quality end product with consistent fill and compaction, as well as accurate weights within 0.01 g. 

The Pre-Roll-Er 50 can make 400 to 600 pre-rolls per hour, ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 per month, with a single operator. According to Bouchard, some companies could produce up to 100,000 pre-rolls per month if needed. 

Bouchard says the smaller version of his legacy product line could also fit any company looking to do lower volume runs of special product lines or small batch manufacturing.

Bouchard also debuted the BoxFinish-Er, which, as you can discern from the name, is designed to work with Knockboxes, RocketBoxes and other pre-roll filling technology. The BoxFinish-Er is an excellent complement to existing technology that uses vibration to fill pre-rolls. An operator loads 300 pre-rolls into the tray, and the machine picks them up, twists them and creates a crown top. The new product can finish up to 600 pre-rolls per hour.

The new machines also include a much smaller footprint. Some operators didn't have room for a large automated machine, so Bouchard created 30-inch by 40-inch tabletop machines. They are easy to operate, and the installation is pretty plug-and-play. 

The BoxFinish-Er is available in customizable modules. The first module or station is the pre-roll and twist capability, the second is the flat top/cutting station, and the third is an oil injection module that infuses pre-rolls. Bouchard says interest in infused products is growing, so the oil injector is available on both the BoxFinish-Er and PreRoll-Er-50. 

Both products work with any cone manufacturer and can even be used to fill plastic tubes. 

Bouchard says his team has worked hard to make more economical machines, and they got it done because the company has invested some five years of R&D into its larger machines, which are currently on their fifth iteration. 

According to Bouchard, the new machines stand to make a big difference for companies struggling with human error and inaccurate pre-rolls, as well as companies faced with a worker shortage that leaves positions unfilled and money on the table. 

The machine ROI will be less than one year, and PreRoll-Er has started taking orders. The PreRoll-Er 50 will be delivered in about 14 weeks; the BoxFinish-Er is about 10 to 12 weeks out. Once the company ramps up production, it plans to keep both machines in stock so they have a quick four-to-six-week turnaround. 

Bouchard will have the new machines and others from the company's product lineup at MJBizCon in Las Vegas, scheduled for November 15-18, 2022. 

Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.

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