Lafayette-based controlled environment agriculture company urban-gro (Nasdaq: UGRO)  hired longtime Denver architect and greenhouse/indoor grow designer Bruys Henderson, according to a news release. 

The company, which bills itself as an “integrated professional services and design-build firm,” tabbed Henderson to take over as senior business and project development manager.

He has a recent background in the cannabis industry and has been involved in over 300 controlled environment (CEA) grow projects throughout the United States and Canada, according to the release.

“Helping others achieve success in the complex, rewarding cannabis space has long been the driving force behind my work,” Henderson said in the release. “With this in mind, I am eager to begin my next chapter with urban-gro and its incredible team, constructing the very foundation of the cannabis industry with each unique client. I look forward to hitting the ground running and kicking off some exciting projects with my new colleagues.”

Urban-gro is out of its start up phase and recently announced $50 million in design-build contracts in Q3. This news came after the launch its “turnkey design build” solution, which allows for a single contact from beginning to end of the design phase. This could offer easier access into the controlled environmental agriculture (CEA) industry, according to company officials.

The company acquired Emerald Construction Management in Q2 and has a binding letter of intent to acquire Texas-based engineering firm Dawson Van Orden, according to the release and interviews with a company official.

Joining the Nasdaq exchange in Q1 provided the capital needed to bring the vision for the company to life, according to Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Brad Nattrass. The turnkey design build provides one source of contact during the building phase for a new CEA business and allows production to potentially begin at least one harvest quicker, Nattrass said.

“That’s just because everything is in house,” Nattrass said. “Other firms are not brought in so we can control the entire process.”

Equitable and equal access into the cannabis industry is becoming a front-and-center issue according to experts, including the non-profit Marijuana Matters. For Nattrass, who sits on the board of the National Cannabis Roundtable, preparing for proper execution will be important if, or when, cannabis becomes federally legal. As a smaller company, they have been able to build a knowledge base for cannabis CEA and can offer that to the marketplace, he said.

While urban-gro does a significant amount of business in the cannabis industry, the company is now dealing in many other segments of the agriculture industry. Nattrass said this is to create a diversified model for the company so if there is a weakness in one market of production,  the company will remain successful. Their acquisitions helped to move urban-gro into established CEA space, provide access to multi-year relationships those companies have already created with key clients and to grow more aggressively, he said.

Urban-gro has successfully helped produce almost 500 indoor cultivation projects, ranging from 10,000 to 1.8 million square feet and managed to increase canopy and reduce energy consumption by 30%, according to its website.

“While our financial performance wasn’t as anticipated in Q3, we signed a lot of backlog contracts … and then the revenue is realized depending upon whether it’s services or equipment in the following six to 24 months,” Nattrass said. “The model is working. Those contracts that we’re signing shows that the model is working so we have proceeded to move forward, make creative, synergistic acquisitions … and we’ll continue to make key acquisitions.”

For more information, visit www.urban-gro.com.