Originally Published by MMJ Daily
Recently, consolidation within the cannabis industry has been seen through several mergers and acquisitions. Many of these transactions have included product and technology firms, but there is one acquisition, in particular, that is going to have quite a significant impact not only on the cannabis industry but on the larger indoor Controlled Environment Agriculture sector.
urban-gro has agreed to acquire the architecture firm MJ12 Design Studio in a move that makes urban-gro a one-stop company supporting growers with full-building turnkey design solutions including architecture, engineering, and cultivation systems integration.“ Our role as an Architecture and Engineering firm truly sets us apart from the rest of the industry,” says Sam Andras, AIA, senior principal and partner at MJ12 Design Studio. “This acquisition has created a company that truly integrates turnkey design solutions under one roof.”
MJ12 Started Early in Cannabis Facility Design
The story of MJ12 Design Studio goes back to the very inception of the cannabis industry. “MJ12 Design Studio’s parent company of 2WR,” Andras recounts. “For 20 years, we had offices in the deep south, and we were working on federal projects. Then, we saw a tremendous opportunity with the legalization of cannabis in Colorado. So, we had to come up with a different brand for our cannabis design services. If you dig back in history, President Harry Truman had a group whose mission was to investigate alien activity. This secret group was called The Majestic 12, and the acronym was MJ12. So, since we were going to be a ‘secret’ architectural firm, MJ12 was the perfect name. From that moment on, we have designed over 100 cultivation facilities, with projects across North America and beyond - including Gibraltar, North Macedonia, and New Zealand.”
