MJBizCon Vegas, intriguing this year, a partial wobble in progress for the cultivation industry and yet optimism and even relief in some quarters. Perhaps the odd bump in the road is no bad thing. Likewise, perhaps it’s no bad thing that some of the blood and thunder of investment over the last few years has abated. A little less outside confidence in some of the new cannabis-trade leviathans is probably healthy.
Mostly it’s reassuring to see the enduring spirit of those for whom the idea of cultivation was always about more than just money. The big money comes, the big money goes, and still those who made the trade continue. All of this pointed to good times and like minds for the 2019 renewal, and so it proved.
Regardless of flux in the industry, MJBiz Vegas was undiminished in scale and spectacle this year. To steal this show you’d need more pockets than a very big crumpet, nonetheless we thought we’d give it a go. To these ends we teamed up with an industry titan or two to show the sensational results made possible with AutoPot in intelligent combinations.
Montel truly have got the cultivation world in motion; racking, stacking, rotating, rolling, furling, locking and maxing out every damn iota of potential growing space in facilities worldwide. Having two bespoke GreenRak propagation and plant models on our booth allowed us to show how easily our systems integrate with theirs. It was an absolute privilege and our profuse thanks go out to Jerome, Zoě, Susan, Pascal, Julien and Nate who made it possible. Missed it at MJBiz? Fear not, you can look forward to the same combo on tour at upcoming shows – follow our FB and Insta feeds to find out more.
Fascinated to observe the great strides they’re taking with lighting, our pants were full of anticipatory ants at the prospect of a chat with FõHSE LED. Meshing beautifully with AutoPot and Montel in terms of ethos, the FõHSE fixtures seek to do much more with much less. Less space required per light, less power to produce more yield. Safe to say we like it. What we hadn’t reckoned on just how heroic their role was to become. With effortless grace and kindness they turned their hand to fitting out our booth with fixtures at the very last minute, making for a marvellously apt and ideologically consistent display. Our gratitude can’t be overstated and we very much look forward to working together in future.
Such displays, augmented by the beaming AutoPot team, drew in the hordes. Lots of commercial interest from the US, whose market is taking some interesting turns, solid and large-scale developments in Canada, expansion in New Zealand and intense activity in the pipe for South Africa – for whom sustainable growing defines the very existence of the industry. Some very interesting partnerships coming up for AutoPot with new tech for agricultural applications too. Proof, if proof were needed, that the eyes of agriculture are keenly trained on the cultivation industry these days. With shows like MJBiz presenting such a proliferation of revolutionary tech it’s no real surprise.
And what of our saucy gang? Incredibly proud of their work this year because MJBiz, whilst dazzlingly good fun, truly is relentless. We hope our guests enjoyed it just as much as we did. Always good to get new perspectives on events and we do like to bring the new blood. With that in mind we premiered some of our lesser spotted, but deeply knowledgeable, coterie this year. Never before glimpsed at MJBiz, but present in spirit at previous events, two chaps whose efforts for AutoPot have been instrumental made their physical debut in 2019. Stepping out of the shadows in Vegas, Benjamin Biggs and Jay Bacchus, of Plantasia and Elite Web respectively, have had key roles in developing our products and platforms. We were sure MJBiz would impress them and verily the show not disappoint, twas the MJBeez knees!
Thanks to AutoPot USA for their sterling work, connections and access to some of the best in US facilities whilst we were stateside. Look forward to a review of our visits in forthcoming newsletters. Galloping back across the ocean waves come the U.K. team. They’ll repair for the Yuletide before heading back to North America for Lift Vancouver with Green Planet – catch us there!