Firm Invests $3.2M to Open Hemp Processing Plant in SC

A joint venture between biotechnology firm United Cannabis Corporation and South Carolina-based company Blue Water Green Bridge LLC, Magnolia Botanicals, is planning to open a new industrial hemp processing plant in Ridgeville, SC. 

“Establishing a state-of-the-art processing facility in Dorchester County gives us a competitive advantage in this emerging market,” Blue Water Green Bridge Chief Executive Officer Richard Mudd said in a statement. “We are proud to call the Lowcountry home and excited to bring 52 new jobs to this community.”

The joint venture is investing $3.2 million to open the facility in the Pine Hill Business Campus. When the site is opened, it will initially provide extraction services to area hemp producers. Over time, the joint venture will add additional services like testing and processing, packaging, purification, and secure storage. Magnolia Botanicals also intends to grow its own hemp crops at some point in the coming years. 

Blue Water and United Cannabis formed Magnolia Botanicals in February 2019.

“The company’s successful expansion into Colorado’s industrial hemp sector was the impetus for us to seek other regions where market demand was not being met and our expertise could provide value,” United Cannabis Chief Executive Officer Earnest Blackmon said in a release announcing the launch of the JV. “Working in conjunction with Blue Water not only gives us a foothold in the South East’s burgeoning industrial hemp market, it also provides us with a strong financial partner.”

Another company, Panda Biotech, revealed plans this month to build a hemp decortication plant in Lubbock County, Texas. The company said the facility will be the largest of its kind in the United States. 

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