Indiana hemp processor expanding operations to meet demand

A hemp processor based in central Indiana plans to build a $50 million facility in Westfield, bringing 100 new jobs to the area.

BDX-Indiana, a CBD extraction company, operates a 63,000-square-foot facility in Indianapolis.

The first phase of construction of the facility, which received a city tax abatement last month, will begin in December. The project’s second phase will begin in March.

BDX-Indiana is a sister company to Indiana hemp grower Biodynamic Ventures, which produced a million clones and seedlings in 2019 and has a 26-grower network of contracted local farmers who planted 350 acres of hemp.

“When we interviewed and selected our farmers, we only let them plant 10-, 20- or 40-acre plots the first year, because there’s a massive learning curve from that point,” said Ken Thieneman, president of BDX-Indiana.

Currently, the farm’s harvested hemp plants are drying at the Indianapolis facility, where plants will be ground and put in cold storage before extraction.

The company plans to produce 3,500 acres in 2020, according to Thieneman.

Read more about the expansion here.