New $20M investment: Gayonica establishes new oil and molecule extraction plant in Saint-Hyacinthe

Gayonica, a new company specialized in the extraction and purification of high-end cannabis resin, has announced it is setting up its plant in Saint-Hyacinthe. It has acquired a 23,500-sq. ft. building in the Oliver-Chalifoux industrial park and will soon launch its transformation activities.

A total of $20 million has been invested into getting the new enterprise underway. Renovations and equipment installation have already begun. The highly automated plant will manufacture products that meet the strictest national and international standards imposed by the food and pharmaceutical industry.

Gayonica was founded by reknowned Maskoutain entrepreneur Philippe Bonnet, who previously co-founded and served as chair of Fromagerie Damafro in Saint-Damase until its sale in 2013. Bonnet has gathered greatly skilled and qualified partners in the very specific fields of cannabis and extraction.

Thus, in addition to its research and development activities, Gayonica will extract cannabis oil and its various molecules. They will be marketed mainly to the pharmaceutical industry for medicinal purposes, but also for producing derivatives for the food processing industry.

Bonnet said, “The new trend towards more natural products and molecules, such as cannabinoids, has created new market opportunities, and that is exactly where Gayonica will find its purpose.” To that end, the oils and molecules extracted by the company will be sold nationally and internationally in both the human and animal markets.

“We are pleased to welcome Gayonica’s new research and production facility to our region,” said Karine Guilbault, the director of industrial development of Saint-Hyacinthe Technopole. “This is one of the most significant industrial investment projects of the year in Saint-Hyacinthe. It will also lead to the creation of highly skilled jobs and generate very innovative activities in the extraction of active compounds for the agrifood and pharmaceutical sectors.”

In the short term, the new plant will create a dozen new jobs in Saint-Hyacinthe.