September 25, 2017 – Richmond, British Columbia, Canada – 1011705 B.C Ltd. (dba Eastwest BioScience Inc.) (“EastWest”} and Harbour Star Capital Corp. (“Harbour Star”), are pleased to announce that on September 11, 2017, Eastwest closed on the acquisition of a 31,000sf warehouse and nutraceutical manufacturing facility in Penticton, British Columbia, a facility previously owned and operated by Planet Organic and Trophic Canada.
“This acquisition is an important step in the company’s strategic plan,” says Rodney Gelineau, CEO of Eastwest. “We are pleased so many worked so diligently to make this important milestone a reality.”
“The facility will be manufacturing product for Eastwest as well as co-packing for other customers,” says Gelineau. “We have an excellent team at the facility,” he says. “Some of the key employees have been working at the facility since the days of Planet Organic and Tropic Canada.”
The facility is large enough to allow for Eastwest’s expansive growth into multiple consumer product lines, including health supplements, functional foods, pet foods and more, which is a key component of the strategic plan for production. It also allows for expansion of its customer base for co-packing.
Hitesh Vyas, the registered Quality Assurance Person, who has helped develop and license some of Canada’s largest nutraceutical and pharmaceutical facilities was hired to help manage the refurbishing and relicensing of the facility with Health Canada. He was impressed with the facility as soon as he saw it. “It was built in 1961, but it’s been well kept over the years. For manufacturing, its’ overall structural and space layout for workflow, equipment, as well as its’ skilled employees will make it a first class facility.”
Mr. Vyas, put that confident perspective to the test this summer when his team completed the facility upgrades and re-wrote all the standard procedure manuals. In August, they submitted a new site license application to Health Canada and due to the solid condition of the facility and strong application the new Manufacturing Site License was quickly approved. “I’m extremely confident in the capabilities of this facility and its’ employees,” he states, a reference to the exceptional work done to get the facility so quickly ready and licensed.
“We’re thrilled to have the expertise of Mr. Vyas,” says Gelineau. “His entire career has been within the food industry and he has expertise in operations, quality management systems, food science and technology. He has the proven ability for overseeing all the facility’s Health Canada compliance matters as well as oversight of the initial operations of Orchard Valley Naturals, Eastwest’s new manufacturing division at the facility.”
The Penticton building has a storied history in the Canadian natural health foods and supplements industry. Originally built in 1961, it has been owned and occupied by some of Canada’s important natural health industry players including Planet Organic, Trophic Canada and Sangster’s Health Centers. Trophic Canada, one of Canada’s leading manufacturers of natural health supplements, was manufacturing supplements out of the facility when it was purchased by Planet Organic in 2007.
By 2009, Planet Organic’s had revenues of $127.7 Million from its 76 retail stores and operations across Canada and the USA. Most of Planet Organic’s manufacturing came from the Trophic Canada manufacturing facility in Penticton. In 2010, competition from large retailers and overly high debt load forced Planet Organic into receivership.
The management of Eastwest Science is looking forward to the opportunities provided by having control of their own manufacturing. The company is well positioned to execute their plans for increasing their manufacturing, maintaining quality control, developing their consumer product lines well into the future.
About EastWest BIoScience Inc.
1011705 B.C Ltd. doing business as EastWest Bioscience Inc., a life science consumer products company manufacturing, marketing, and distributing hemp-based products. EastWest is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, with a manufacturing, laboratory and warehouse facility located in Penticton, British Columbia.
For further information about EastWest, please contact:Darrell Woronchak Investor Relations Contact at: Telephone: (800) 409-1930, Ext 200
About Harbour Star Capital Corp.
Harbour Star is listed on the TSX-V (“HSC”) and has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Eastwest BioScience Inc.
Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.
For further information about Harbour Star, please contact: Mohammad Fazil: President and Chief Executive Officer of Harbour Star Capital Inc. at: Telephone: (403) 613-7310
The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.