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Customer Feature Dab Dispenser Fuel Injector Vape-Jet

Sessions: Customer Feature

In cannabis production, innovation isn’t a choice but a necessity. With a company like Oregon’s Sugar Tree Farm, finding a way to bring sun-grown cannabis from farm-to-nail in the most local and sustainable way requires innovation throughout the production process.  

Luckily, ensuring product integrity through seamless filling operations is critical to our crew at Vape-Jet. That’s why Sugar Tree Farm reached out to us for assistance with their mission: maintaining product quality from seed to dab.  

Now, with Dab Factory and Sessions, their distinguished Butane Hash Oil (BHO) brands, Sugar Tree Farm is leading the charge for smaller mom-and-pop shops with the most well-cultivated, high-quality products available.  

We sat down with General Manager Joy Kintz, and two of their extraction experts Jeremiah Kintz and Dario Flynn to discuss their cannabis automation journey from carts to dabs and to see how they harness the power of Vape-Jet to grow their production processes.  

Launching with Vape-Jet 

Before 

Dario, Joy, and Jeremiah reflect on starting their business and realizing quickly that automation was the only way to compete. 

“It’s 2024, carts have been around for a while,” Dario says. “There’s a lot of companies that are absolutely destroying it, and they make fantastic products.” 

“If we want to even try to compete with [other cannabis companies] we have to use all the tools in our arsenal to bring the highest-quality options to people,” Dario says. 

Knowing they would need to invest in automated equipment for cartridge production to compete in a saturated market, Sugar Tree embarked on an extensive research phase, dedicating close to a year to refine their processes and select the best equipment.  

The turning point came when a neighboring facility upgraded to a Vape-Jet fully automated cartridge-filling machine, allowing Sessions’ crew to test the waters by borrowing their semi-automatic Jet Fueler. “We were like, ‘this is really awesome,’” Joy explains. “We realized we needed to go bigger and faster because we were launching whole new brands. So, we got in contact with Vape-Jet,” Joy says.  

Investing in a Vape-Jet fully automated cartridge filler was the only practical way to scale operations. “Manual filling methods or semi-automated solutions wouldn’t cut it given our growth projections,” Dario explains.  

Joy emphasized the importance of efficiency from the outset. “We understood that starting small wasn’t an option in today’s competitive market. By investing in advanced equipment like the Vape-Jet, we could ensure consistent quality and meet consumer expectations.”  

“We thought, ‘we’re going to launch something new, we need to shoot for the stars.’ So in our mind, we thought, well, we might as well just pull the trigger and go for the big boy. We went straight to the Vape-Jet and just ran from there.”  

Vape-Jet 4.0 | The Most Advanced Fully-Automatic Vape Cartridge Filling Machine - Click to Learn More

Growing with Vape-Jet  

After

Sessions’ production capacity grew precipitously. Growing at such an accelerated rate was remarkable for a new product line. Their new Vape-Jet matched Sessions’ mission: achieving a sustainable product workflow that matched their customers’ desire for fresher, more local, and additive-free cannabis products.   

In recent weeks, they’ve added a second Vape-Jet, and are expecting to fill double their current filling rates, a still-massive 2,500 vape cartridges every four hours (with four hours of labor dedicated to labeling and preparing for distribution). With two machines, Sugar Tree expects to produce 8,000-9,000 vape carts per day.   

Their production speed will improve further because, as Joy explains, with a seamless workflow of two Vape-Jets, one running disposables, and one running 510s, “we can run the same strain and get two products at the same time,” Joy explains. That’s less changeover, less waste, and, especially at scale, a great way of reducing production costs.  

What do they fill?  

Sugar Tree Farm specializes in sun-grown cannabis, integrating their Dab Factory and Sessions brands as the core of their full-spectrum hash oil offerings.  

510 (AVD EZ Click) and All-in-One (iKrusher Uzo) 

Vape-Jet Partner equipment works seamlessly with our automated filling machines. 

Vape-Jet partners are vetted by our crew and represent some of the top brands in cannabis production. We precision calibrate our equipment for partners like AVD and iKrusher to ensure seamless, efficient cartridge-filling. 

Butane Hash Oil from 100% cannabis (strain-specific terpenes from cannabis only)  

The Dab Dispenser Semi-Auto helps keep each strain fresh from source to customer. “As the extractor, it’s not my job to be some kind of magician and turn [extracts] into something fantastic,” Dario explains. “It’s my job to showcase what these awesome growers have been working their butts off to bring us.” 

Collaborating with Vape-Jet   

At Vape-Jet, we work closely with brands like AVD and iKrusher to ensure our filling machines work seamlessly with our customers’ hardware.  

“That’s one of the things I’ve been super impressed about, not only have you guys had our back with our facility, but you’ve gone above and beyond to communicate with AVD,” Dario says. 

Vape-Jet’s in-house engineering team worked with AVD to create custom-designed occlusion jigs for both the AVD and iKrusher hardware to maximize the efficiency of our machine vision system and boost throughput rates while filling.  

“In the few months that we’ve been working with you, I’ve personally seen changes from AVD and from [Vape-Jet] to meet in the middle and make some really kick-ass stuff,” Dario says. 

“The occlusion jig you guys created for us has made it hands-down, almost seamless,” Joy explains. “We did experience issues filling [510s] before, but since we’ve gotten the jigs you’ve made, it’s been night and day.” 

“With the [AVD] jig, we cut the time it took to fill 50 carts in half,” Dario says. “It was about six, seven minutes before. Right now, I’m filling 50 cartridges in under three minutes. I almost can’t take them out and put lids on any faster than that.”  

“Ryan Hoitt got that [jig] out to us within 24 hours,” Dario remembers. “He came and dropped it off first thing in the morning, and we tested it right there to make sure it worked one hundred percent. We had one of the fastest runs that I’ve ever seen. Like just over two minutes to fill fifty carts.”  

Piloting the Dab Dispenser

The newest member of the filling fleet, our Dab Dispenser Semi-Auto, is the result of countless hours of R&D both in our facility and in our partner labs. Sessions was one of the first test pilots to join our Pilot Program, collaborating with us by providing data and feedback to improve the design of our products.  

As a witness to the evolution of the Dab Dispenser, Dario recalls changes to the machine based on feedback from their lab team. “I’ve been super impressed about [the Pilot Program] every step of the way. We’ve seen several different variations and modifications.” 

“It seems like every single day, you guys came in here and tweaked the [Dab Dispenser] a little bit,” Dario says. “You might have had a new piece of hardware, a software update, cutting down fill times, cutting down load times—just adding new things.” 

“I was actually very happy with the product that you all brought to us two, three months ago, but Ryan and Devon said, ‘We’re not even close to done there’ and they’ve kept going.” 

How did the Dab Dispenser do?  

Speed  

By hand, their team can fill and package 400 to 600 jars a day, a number dependent on operator experience and a host of other variables in a very manual process. With the initial prototype of the Dab Dispenser Semi-Auto? They are gramming 300-350 jars an hour. “Right now, my extraction teams are making 5,000-7,000 grams a day,” Dario says.  

Labor  

“[The Dab Dispenser] helps reduce the amount of burnout that the packagers feel from sitting there and repetitively gramming by hand,” Joy explains. 

Simplifying production and saving on labor is also a huge competitive advantage. “[Vape-Jet] gives us the opportunity to compete with larger corporations or companies that have [more] money to spend on labor. For us to be a small company and be able to, put out that much product in such a short amount of time is a game-changer.” 

Preserving Product Quality  

Sessions’ extracts consists of outdoor-grown flower, varying in viscosity and thickness, meaning their semi-auto machine is dialed in for each strain. Producing less terpene-heavy strains, the Dab Dispenser is a perfect platform to nail that batter, budder and sauce consistency. 

“For the good majority of our strains, [the Dab Dispenser] is freakin’ perfect,” Dario says. 

Accounting for the ideal filling variables of each strain, the Dab Dispenser can preserve strain-specific characteristics while weight-checking each individual jar, allowing operators to package products quickly, preserving flavor and quality. 

Every gram looks good, too: “The gram presentation is fantastic,” Dario says. “You get a nice little gram right in the center of the jar. There’s nothing on the sidewalls, nothing on the lids.”  

“We haven’t really had any issues with jamming, blowing motors, or putting too much pressure—[the Dab Dispenser is] a pretty seamless process,” Dario says. 

The Sugar Tree Farm team has also been test piloting our Fuel Injector pre-roll infusion kit.

Vape-Jet Support  

Communication  

When it comes to getting the support you need, quick communication is the best way to limit downtime. “[Vape-Jet] support has been great on any questions we asked,” Jeremiah says.   

Support Tickets  

“I really liked how you can access tickets and support requests right from the machine,” Dario says. “Throughout the day, I’ve had questions and reached out to the Vape-Jet team, and while I’m doing my workflow without having to stop, I’ll get a notification and message right on the screen. So that’s really cool—just because it’s so instant.”  

Technical Support Professionals  

“Everybody is so respectful,” Joy says. “You never get the feeling that like you’re bothering them, or they think they’re above you.”  

“You guys have given us the opportunity to grow as a company, given us the ability to survive as a small mom-and-pop operation. And, in my opinion, I think some of the mom-and-pop operations have some of the highest quality products in this industry.”  

“For consumers as a whole, the opportunity to try products from all kinds of companies and not just big conglomerates—you’ve really saved the little guy by creating products that streamline our business and help us to compete on the same level as bigger companies.” 

“Another company might see us as not that big of a deal. Or like we don’t deserve as much attention as somebody else because we’re smaller, but you never get that feeling with Vape-Jet. You always feel like [Vape-Jet] really care about their customers genuinely.” 

Elevating Production with Vape-Jet

Was the team at Sessions able to exceed their production goals and expand operations?   

“Tenfold,” Joy confirms. “We had no idea what we were going to be capable of. And now that we have two Vape-Jets and a Dab Dispenser…”  

“It took us about a month to realize that one Vape-Jet wasn’t going to be enough,” Dario says.   

“Joy can tell you that she gets phone calls every single day, asking, ‘When are more carts going to be on the menu? Do we have more? How many more do we have?’”   

“We’re pumping out almost double the amount of units that we were doing six months ago. And we thought we were doing pretty good six months ago, and we’re not even at full speed yet.”  

Looking Ahead with Sugar Tree Farm  

By harnessing the power of automated vape-filling and dab dispensing technology, Sugar Tree Farm, Sessions, and Dab Factory have elevated their production processes and set new standards in quality and scalability. We look forward to seeing what the future has in store for this amazing team.  

Other Vape-Jet Success Stories: 

Proper Brands  
Ration, Blue Box Brands & BeGreen Supply  
Fernway 
True North Collective MI  
C3 Industries 
Terrapin Care Station  

Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Re:Fill newsletter to get early access to company updates, product releases, and other exciting announcements. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter and YouTube for regular updates. 

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Proper Brands: Customer Feature

Where do cultivation, manufacturing, and retail intertwine to create a comprehensive cannabis experience? Proper Brands, a fully vertical marijuana company in Missouri, handles all three, offering a diverse product range that few can match. With product variety, quality, and volume being the most important, Proper trusted Vape-Jet filling machines to do what they do best—fill vape cartridges with industry-leading accuracy.  

Proper Brands at a Glance 

With an extensive brand catalog consisting of Proper Cannabis, Ratio Vapes & Microdose Mints, Honeybee Edibles, Goodnight gummies and vapes, and vape cartridge operations powered by our semi-automated Jet Fueler 3.0 and fully automated Vape-Jet 4.0, we checked in with Larry Decristofaro, Proper’s Director of Processing, to see how things were going. 

See what we learned:  

Before Vape-Jet  Filling Machines

Before they switched to Vape-Jet, Proper used an A10-Hotshot semi-auto filler. As they began manufacturing live resin and rosin, Larry recognized they would have to increase volume.   

“On a good day, during an 8-hour shift, we were doing around 2,000 pens for a distillate product,” Larry says. As far as capping, Larry recalls using screw tops for a short time, but switching to AVD Eazy Press has made everything easier. “AVD has really changed the game with the Eazy Press,” he says.  

Switching to Vape-Jet

After switching to Vape-Jet, Proper fills and caps up to 7,500 vape cartridges per shift, with a single operator. That’s right, one person using a Vape-Jet (for distillate or live resin SKUs) and a Jet Fueler (for rosin) more than tripled their daily throughput.  “The Vape-Jet has been a huge asset in our lab, it’s almost like a team member.”

What is Proper currently filling?  

  • Distillate with botanical terpene blends   
  • 100% live resin blends   
  • Distillate live resin hybrids   
  • 100% rosin blends   
  • Distillate and isolate hybrids   

What has improved?   

“Everything from volume to overall quality, to shot size,” Larry says. “Our workers are happier working with [your] machinery. It’s also an easier piece of equipment to learn, so I can have more people using it.”  

“We have really high fill volumes, in my opinion; our shot sizes are super accurate. And our batches are always within 2-3% of what we’re reflecting, which is great.”   

What are Larry’s favorite features?  

“You can clean the machine with a solvent easily.” And the reservoir size, Larry mentions—compared to their last filler, ”it’s huge by comparison.” Larry also notes the nitrogen-pressurized fluid path is helpful for limiting oxidation and assisting with temperature control. 

“The amount of work that goes unnoticed on the Vape-Jet vs. the competition is unmatched. Especially being able to hot swap reservoirs on the Vape-Jet; you can fly,” Larry says. “We have the Drop Tank, and it’s well worth it if you’re a high-volume producer.”   

Growing with Vape-Jet Filling Machines

As Proper transitioned from strictly medical markets to recreational cannabis markets, Vape-Jet emerged as the ultimate growth catalyst for expanding production capacity. “We were a 3000-4000 package a week lab,” Larry reflects. “Now, we’re a 12,000-15,000 package a week lab.” 

This transition wasn’t just about increased production volume; it also empowered Proper with precise control over their vape cartridge automation, allowing for fine-tuned formulations and improved operational procedures. “It’s really interesting how [Vape-Jet] has helped us grow. And it’s not just helping us grow by the numbers, it’s helping us grow in our thought processes,” Larry says. “The Vape-Jet really helped put us over the top.” 

Vape-Jet 4.0 | The Most Advanced Fully-Automatic Vape Cartridge Filling Machine - Click to Learn More

Vape-Jet Support

Vape-Jet’s commitment to technical support is critical for bolstering production volume, especially as companies transition to recreational markets. The accessibility of Vape-Jet Support played a crucial role in getting Proper up-to-speed, from machine training to rapid troubleshooting. 

Accessible Support 

“[With Vape-Jet] you get this incredible support team, which is very valuable,” Larry says. “Our whole lab has interacted with most of your team when we were getting trained on the machine.”  

“So many of these companies are huge one day, then they’re not answering phones the next. Vape-Jet’s service has been phenomenal. They’re going to overnight a part, and they’re going to work through it with you.”  

Remote Installation

“[Vape-Jet] sends you all the tools, stays on the phone the entire time, and has techs that will go out and physically show what you’re trying to do.”  

Improved Uptime

“The other fillers I’ve had, you had to ship back to the manufacturer if you wanted anything done,” Larry says. “You could be out for weeks if they were backed up or if something got messed up in the mail. Vape-Jet overnights you parts, gets you a technician immediately, and you’re able to do it yourself.”  

The Vape-Jet crew understands the potential loss that comes when your vape cartridge filler is down. For example, if you’re filling 7,500 vape pens a day and you’re down for two weeks, that’s 75,000 pens worth of profit lost. Vape-Jet gets you back up and running in no time.  

Feedback, Tips, & Tricks from Proper Brands

Since repeatability is at the core of Vape-Jet filling machines, we turn to the expertise of experienced operators like Larry to share insights and time-tested strategies that can be universally applied to elevate your vape cartridge production. 

Bubbling 

“A lot of people blame their fillers [for] bubbling,” Larry begins. “[The issue] often lies in the processes before getting to the filler. The Vape-Jet comes with the nitrogen boost, that’s going to kill a lot of those bubbles for you if your oil is right and it’s been exposed to temperatures similar to what you’re filling at.”  

Heating  

Temperature control plays a pivotal role in the oil filling process, and different oil types require precise temperature controls for premium quality. 

  • In general, the longer your oil is exposed to heat, the more variability.    
  • Distillate, on the other hand, maintains a more consistent viscosity across a range of temperatures. 

Vape-Jet Tips

“Our rosin gets put into the Jet Fueler at a higher temperature than we produce the rosin pens at. We’ve realized that if we put the hopper below the 350g mark, we’re able to fill [carts] fast enough that it does not decarb more in the hopper.”  

“Listen to the people that are teaching you how to use this equipment. A great example I have is on the Vape-Jet when we were first getting started,” Larry explains. “One of our techs was using the machine, and we had to take the oil out of the machine for whatever reason. That person disconnected the fluid line before the nitrogen. If you listen, you won’t run into major issues.”   

Optimize Your Filling Operations

Whether it’s improving from 10,000 vape carts a week to 37,500 or the consistent quality of Vape-Jet filling machines, Larry is excited for what the future holds. “We’ve only started optimizing processes over the last two weeks,” he says. “We haven’t fully utilized the Vape-Jet to its fullest extent.”  

How likely are you to recommend Vape-Jet? “I have always recommended Vape-Jet and will continue to do so,” Larry says.  

If you want to ramp up production and maintain premium quality products, reach out to our crew, and we’ll find the best solution for your business.   

Like our customer features? Check out these other success stories:   

Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Re:Fill newsletter to get early access to company updates, product releases, and other exciting announcements. Follow us on the essentials, too: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. 

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ElevatedRX: Customer Feature

Proudly cultivating, extracting, and manufacturing from the heart of New Mexico, ElevatedRx is a licensed cannabis extraction and manufacturing company raising the bar for premium-quality cannabis products. Guided by a mission to provide superior edibles, wax, and distillate for consumers, the team at ElevatedRx won the “Best Cart” award with Peaches and Dream at the Essie Awards and continues to focus on delivering products with the highest quality, purity, and potency.

With this mission in mind, the next step for ElevatedRx was to ensure every touchpoint in their process was handled with the same care as extraction. When your customers and mission demand perfection, every cartridge fill counts. That’s why the ElevatedRx team reached out to the Vape Jet crew and how they got started with the Jet Fueler.   

In this customer feature, we spoke with Bobby and Danny who work in the lab at ElevatedRx to see how they have implemented our semi-automatic vape cartridge-filling machine and what tips they would like to pass on to other folks in the cannabis industry looking to elevate their products.  

‘In the Beginning’: Before the Jet Fueler 

In the beginning, there was nothing…   

Well, not really. In the beginning, there was hand-filling. Bobby and Danny recall the painstaking process of filling distillate by hand (with a syringe gun) the same way many of us remember hard times—lots of character-building, not too much fun.  

Filling five vape cartridges at a time by hand meant having to cap each of the cartridges before filling more to ensure oil didn’t discolor in the cartridge. It also required a lot of labor, wasn’t fast by any means, and introduced variables that invite cartridge failures.   

Before the Jet Fueler, ElevatedRx filled about 500 vape cartridges a day with four to five employees dedicated to the task for eight hours each.  

‘Let There Be Light!’: Optimizing Throughput with the Jet Fueler

Switching to the Jet Fueler changed the game, Bobby and Danny agree. “[The Jet Fueler is] a lot more consistent with every single cartridge,” Bobby says. “It gives you very consistent carts, and it’s a lot cleaner too. I hate having sticky hands and sticky clothes.”  

Having a Jet Fueler also gave a significant boost to ElevatedRx’s QA process. Before, there simply wasn’t time to weigh vape cartridges in the thorough way they do things now, Bobby and Danny say. In other words, having a semi-automatic vape cart filler allows them to focus on refining their processes rather than focusing purely on filling.  

Now, ElevatedRx is filling much more volume, allowing them to pull more samples for QA to ensure repeatable quality fills. The fills have been a lot more consistent during spot checks, too, Danny says.  

After the Jet Fueler, ElevatedRx can fill up to 2,000 vape cartridges a day with a single employee filling and one capping. That’s 1,500 more cartridges, quality-filled, and 50-60% less labor! They also switched from steel vape cartridge caps to ceramic AVD cartridges, which have resolved previous capping issues and made the cartridge-filling process much more efficient.  

Jet Fueler Love: Tips, Tricks, and Product Support 

Bobby and Danny’s favorite feature of the Jet Fueler? The heating elements. “The heating elements are really good. Having three separate heaters for the reservoir, needle, and line is very smart and prevents the degradation of your oil from excessive heat.” 

Another great part about working with Vape-Jet is the industry-leading support team. “I’ve had nothing but good experiences. [The support team has] always been there for us any time we need anything. I’ve never encountered someone where I’ve felt like they were having a ‘bad day.’ They have always been chipper, nice, and able to help us out fairly promptly.”  

Asked whether they had any tips and tricks for the Jet Fueler, Bobby and Danny identify a couple of items:  

  1. Work with Vape-Jet support to find the perfect target for each cartridge and oil type to ensure consistency.  
  2. Use a filter! “We just use a coffee filter, but it fits perfectly on top of the reservoir. I recommend a filter so nothing gets into the reservoir or valve.”  

Unparalleled Cartridge-Filling Technology + Vape-Jet Support = 10/10

How likely are you to recommend Vape-Jet? “100%—10,” Bobby and Danny agree, “especially the price point compared to other machines. The Jet Fueler is super, super on point compared to anything else so far.”   

At Vape-Jet, we’re always looking at how we can cultivate premium experiences for vape cartridge fillers and end users alike. ElevatedRx is a great example of how you can grow your brand, decrease labor and product loss costs, and establish yourself as a quality solution provider by optimizing your vape cartridge-filling workflow.   

What’s next for ElevatedRx? The sky is the limit. With a new Vape-Jet fully-automatic cart filler in-house, we see more award-winning fills on the horizon. In fact, ElevatedRx just launched a disposable vape cartridge made possible by their Vape-Jet and Jet Fueler cart-filling machines. So, make sure to stay tuned to ElevatedRx to see what they have in store for 2023!  

In the meantime, if you want to become another success story, reach out to our crew and we’ll find the best solution for your business.   

Like our customer features? Check out these other success stories:   

Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Re:Fill newsletter to get early access to company updates, product releases, and other exciting announcements. Follow us on the essentials, too: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. 

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Customer Feature: Ration, Blue Box Brands & BeGreen Supply

At Vape-Jet, we are always inspired by the innovative ways our customers use our products to drive success in their businesses. That’s why we’re excited to share our interview with a man who truly does it all, Chris Michaud. As the CEO and Founder of Blue Box Brands, Ration Cannabis, and BeGreen Supply, Chris shared valuable insights on how using our products has helped grow his businesses.  

As our newest hardware partner, Chris’s company BeGreen Supply builds custom-branded cannabis hardware and packaging. Moreover, Chris’s team uses our semi-automatic Jet Fueler to fill vape cartridges and disposables for his consumer brand Ration Cannabis, a cause-based cannabis brand dedicated to supporting military veterans. 

Brands like Ration demonstrate that Chris strives to build businesses that give back to the community. So, along with some valuable operational insights and inspiration for other businesses looking to enhance their own workflows, we hope this customer feature serves as a reminder of how the cannabis industry—and associated industries—can give back. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into our interview with Vape-Jet CEO, Developer, and Founder Ryan Hoitt and Chris Michaud. 

Watch the full interview above or check out the written article below.

Who is Blue Box Brands?

With product lines ranging from vaporizers and smokables to mouth sprays and edibles, Blue Box Brands is a collection of high-quality cannabis businesses curated to support community causes and serve niche consumer audiences. 

Chris describes Blue Box Brands as ‘a curator and creator of brands.’ On the macro level, Chris explains, “we work with a couple of organizations in D.C., making sure that we’re paying attention to where policy sits and where veterans have access or don’t have access, or maybe there’s an education hole.”  

On the micro level, Blue Box Brands gives back to more localized organizations. One example is Swim With a Mission. “It’s a great group,” Chris says. “They work with the Navy SEAL Foundation out of Florida. We co-host events every year—this was our second year this past July—where you have a paintball tournament, every team gets a Navy SEAL, and you go through the whole tournament with them.”  

Chris describes these experiences as immersive and rejuvenating, allowing Blue Box to give back to the community and veterans who have laid it all on the line. “We’re able to give back dollars to things like improving household accessibility, giving money towards billing codes, or direct help and counseling.” 

“That’s awesome,” Ryan says. “As a former Navy guy, go Navy.” 

“Whether Ration’s helping on the philanthropy side or Blue Box is helping a brand that’s adjacent to its own portfolio, we’re really about commercializing brands and preparing them for scale,” Chris explains. “We have a good relationship with our sister company BeGreen Supply which helps provide packaging and hardware, and that’s what brings us together with Vape-Jet.”  

Outreach and Advocacy

With philanthropic outreach and advocacy playing a major part in what Chris and his team do, we wanted to highlight the various initiatives his team is involved in and the ways they work to create lasting positive change. 

“Ration does a lot of outreach and advocacy and a lot of philanthropy,” Ryan begins. “Can you tell me more about that, how you got started down that route, and why did you select veterans’ organizations?”  

“Veterans service organizations (VSOs) do a lot, and I’m never going to suggest that we can do their job better. It was important to me to find and vet good VSOs so we could accomplish what we’d like to from a for-profit business perspective,” Chris says.  

The ways Ration works with different VSOs depends on the scale of each organization, Chris explains. “Our favorite component is really getting to find out what these people need. Before starting Ration, we spent the first year down in D.C. talking to different groups and finding out who was going to make sense to partner with, who was not going to be afraid of cannabis, who was going to speak up about cannabis in their lobby sessions, in their peer groups. And we found some fantastic people through that process, whether they be individuals or organizations.” 

From that first year, Chris and his team identified that what veterans need is true support. “Our business is providing support to individuals, whether that’s getting them involved with therapy plus medication plus alternative medication.” 

Providing support to veterans in this way really hits home for Chris, whose father served in the Air Force. “My father, back in the day, caught a piece of ammunition off of a plane that was very, very large and messed his back up. He’s been very successful since then, but just a couple of years ago, his injuries started to flare up again, and very recently, in the last year, he was prescribed a number of opiates and a nerve suppressant,” Chris says. 

Eventually, Chris got a call from a family member in the clinical community: “She said, ‘what can we do to get your dad off of these things?’” It was an odd call, Chris explains, because this family member is the expert. “So, you know, [I shared] any bit of exposure that we’ve had in this space to help them get through that. Within two weeks, he was off of the entire opiate program. He kept the nerve suppressant, but he was off the opiates, and now he’s, you know, it’s his choice he doesn’t continue to use cannabis, but it got him through that moment, and now he’s clear of everything. Small success stories like that yield great results, and I want to see that continued in that community.”  

Building Brands with Vape-Jet

“I know we were introduced through Vape-Jet,” Ryan says. “I believe it is BeGreen Supply that operated and purchased the machine. Can you tell me more about how you found out about Vape-Jet and how that’s been going for you?” 

“Sure,” Chris says. “I found out about Vape-Jet by walking the floor at MJBizCon a few years ago, but it was totally by chance, and we were super happy to find a great team and you leading that team. I have a background in medical devices and FDA compliance and pushing things forward to the next level, which is why I wanted to build a device company before getting into brands. But I was like, ‘this guy gets it.’” 

“That was a great meeting,” Ryan recalls. “I remember because we didn’t have a booth that year. I believe you and [Vape-Jet COO] Devon started chatting heavily about medical devices and all the insanity of bringing devices through marketing and FDA approval and everything else.”  

“That was fun because the origins of why we started in the cannabis space really followed that track. We were, you know, a couple of friends who wanted to get away from how long it took to bring products to market in the medical device industry. Now, we’re on to onto kind of a faster-paced industry. It’s volatile, but it’s a lot of fun, and there’s a ton of opportunity to help people and brands.”  

“Can you tell me more about what Vape-Jet devices you use and how you’re using them?”  

“My interaction with Vape-Jet is from two different lenses,” Chris says, “whether that’s direct through Ration and some of the other brands that we have in-house or some of the customers that we support from BeGreen Supply. I was truly attracted to Vape-Jet from our origin story, but also the fact that I found real success in my customers’ stories back on the BeGreen front, whether that’s supporting MSOs or direct brands like Ration. [Vape-Jet] has really versatile system[s], whether we’re talking about an individual filler, such as the Jet Fueler or the Vape-Jet, that’s a little bit more comprehensive.” 

Jet Fueler 2.0 The Most Advanced Semi-Automatic Vape Cartridge Filling Machine - Click to Learn More
Vape-Jet 4.0 | The Most Advanced Fully-Automatic Vape Cartridge Filling Machine - Click to Learn More

“From my perspective, I love being able to recommend a myriad of systems, and Vape-Jet is always number one at the top. And it also has a great capping solution, which is pretty rare to find systems that are designed to work together,” Chris explains. “Internally, I love setting up my partners for our own brands. We go in from a manufacturing assessment standpoint, and we ask, ‘okay, what’s the real capacity of this place and what do we want to get them to?’”  

From there, Chris helps teams understand their labor, infrastructure, and facility needs. “We typically like to start groups with a Jet Fueler and then graduate them to a Vape-Jet, and our multistate approach is really aimed at facilitating that conversation through Vape-Jet. So we’re taking Blue Box Brands as a portfolio and going to all these different states, and we’re requiring Vape Jet to be part of that protocol.”  

Currently Filling

With Chris focused on implementing Vape-Jet filling machines into production across brands, we wanted to get an idea of the devices they’ve filled and are filling currently. 

“From the BeGreen front, most of our customers are filling cartridges. 510 remains a pretty strong player in the world of vaporizers, but we have seen an increase in disposables at a national level. Beyond that, though, we have got some things that are being built internally—that [may] be a proprietary pod system that’s coming out here very soon,” Chris hints.  

“Service is King”

“One of my favorite things about Vape-Jet is that, from an executive level, I can pick up the phone and call Vape-Jet, and [you] can log into our machine,” Chris explains. As a benefit he’s enjoyed over the years, Chris knows that he can troubleshoot any Vape-Jet or Jet Fueler issues with our support team and receive quick assistance so his team can get filling again. 

“On that note,” Ryan says, “not a lot of people know this, but our organizational structure is all built around support from the very beginning. Every single one of our departments, it doesn’t matter who they are, reports to support. Sales reports to our support department, manufacturing reports to our support department… Everything is focused around support because I’ve found that with any device you build, any piece of equipment that has moving parts and some that don’t, something is going to break, and the business processes you build around that fact are incredibly important.”  

“Definitely,” Chris agrees. “Service is king; learned that through manufacturing a long time ago, whether it was setting up a big factory or working with mom and pop, it’s all based on service.”  

Thank You

We’d like to thank Chris for taking the time to speak with us and share his insights. It was a pleasure to learn more about the amazing things Blue Box Brands, Ration Cannabis, and BeGreen Supply are doing in the world besides providing high-quality solutions for other businesses and end-users. We wish Chris and his team continued success and fulfillment in the coming years. Keep up the great work supporting veterans, and thank you for making a positive impact. 

Read more of our customer features: 

If you are interested in partnering with us, reach out to our crew to learn how Vape-Jet can provide next-level products for your customers.  

While you’re at it, don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Re:Fill newsletter to get early access to company updates, product releases, and other exciting announcements. Follow us on the essentials, too: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.   

Categories
Jet-Fueler Vape-Jet

Fernway: Customer Feature

What better way to enjoy New England’s Fall foliage than paying a visit to our good friends at Fernway in Northampton, Massachusetts? As creators of Massachusetts’ 1st recyclable cannabis vape—The Traveler—and long-time Vape-Jet customers, it was only fitting that we caught up during the changing of the seasons to discuss—well, change.   

Vape-Jet CEO, Developer, and Founder, Ryan Hoitt sat down with Fernway’s COO and co-founder, Kevin Wu, to see how things are going. Read on to learn about Vape-Jet and Fernway’s ongoing collaboration, the move to sustainable industry practices, Vape-Jet tips and tricks, and more:  

The Vape-Jet Experience  

Since their founding in February 2021, Fernway has used Vape-Jet cartridge-filling machines to ensure they maintain high QA standards and have scalable technology to grow with their business. Starting with our Jet Fueler semi-automatic vape cart filler in 2021, Fernway is now up to five Vape-Jet fully-automatic cartridge-filling machines, four of which operate side-by-side in their Northampton facility.  

“How did you learn about Vape-Jet?”  

“It must have been on the internet somewhere… We were just four guys in a house at that time, and we didn’t have the money to spend on a fully automated, big fancy machine,” Kevin says. After testing and evaluating almost every machine on the market, Kevin came across the Jet Fueler — “It was a perfect fit for what we needed and a great machine to learn about oil paths and how distillate and cannabis oil can move through PTFE lines and reservoirs.”   

During those early days, Vape-Jet and Fernway went through the growing pains of high-throughput manufacturing together, allowing both businesses to grow and learn from one another. “You gave us a lot of feedback on things that needed improvement,” Ryan says.   

“Yeah, I think you make it sound a little worse than it was,” Kevin jokes. “I will say that the [Jet Fueler] was repeatable and that was key for us because we wanted to bring a high-quality, consistent vape product to market.”   

When Fernway did run into an issue, Kevin opened a support ticket, and the Vape-Jet support team would stay on the phone until they resolved the issue. “That gave us a lot of peace of mind,” Kevin adds. “If there was an issue with the machine, we wouldn’t be left stranded.”  

“In my opinion, we’ve had a really collaborative relationship,” Ryan says. “A lot of our recent software upgrades—in terms of data reporting, batch records, and whatnot—were direct suggestions from you.”  

“I see us as fellow travelers and kindred spirits in that our products and companies are becoming larger and more sophisticated, and we have to grow together,” Kevin says. “That can only happen if we’re sharing information back and forth.”  

After eventually scaling to three Jet Fuelers, Fernway upgraded to the fully-automatic Vape-Jet. “Now, we have five of them,” Kevin says.  

Growing Together: Switching to a Fully-Automated Workflow  

After realizing their business was scaling too quickly to fill every vape cartridge manually under a needle, the Fernway team realized it was time for some automated assistance.  

“The transition was actually fairly easy because of how familiar we were with the Jet Fuelers,” Kevin says. “The Vape-Jet team helped create profiles that are unique to each piece of our hardware.” So, whether Fernway is filling their 510 half-gram vape cartridges or one of their Traveler sizes, a customized hardware profile is ready to quickly and accurately fill to spec.  

“Beyond setting up those initial profiles, the process of loading the reservoir into the machine, pressurizing the machine with the nitrogen assist, [and] setting the temperature zones was all very familiar to us,” Kevin continues. “It was big relief when we saw that platform and the needle moving around, and we knew we didn’t have to fill those cartridges one by one anymore.”  

Vape-Jet 4.0 | The Most Advanced Fully-Automatic Vape Cartridge Filling Machine - Click to Learn More
Scaling and Sustainability—Friends at Last  

Now selling half and full-gram 510 vape cartridges and Massachussettes’ first recyclable vape cartridge, the Traveler (available in 0.3 and 0.7-gram sizes), Fernway is moving the industry toward more sustainable practices that consumers demand.   

“We’ve been seeing a lot of movement in the market away from 510s toward more disposable packaging,” Ryan Hoitt says. “Could you tell me the challenges involved with setting [the Traveler] up?”  

“We saw the same [trends] you did,” Kevin Wu agrees. “Customers really enjoy the all-in-one form factor with the oil and the battery connected, but we didn’t like the environmental impact of that product form.”   

The solution? Fernway found a recycling partner. “After one of our recyclable [vape cartridges] are spent, [and] the oil is consumed, the customer can bring [the Traveler] back to where they purchased it and deposit it in a recycling box.”  

A few times a year, after the Fernway team collects all the recycled Traveler vapes in their facility, their recycling partner collects the spent devices, dips them into liquid nitrogen, then pulverizes them. “Then they heat it to recover different materials found in the devices,” Kevin says.  

An Innovative Trio: Vape-Jet, Fernway, and Cilicon

“So, I know with the Traveler you’ve been working with Cilicon as the hardware manufacturer,” Ryan says. “Can you describe the experience of developing and launching that product with such a tight feedback loop between their team, the Vape-Jet team, and yourself?” 

“We selected Cilicon as our all-in-one hardware vendor almost a year ago,” Kevin explains. “We went through several rounds of testing and decided that the performance and the profile of [their] product was exactly what we wanted. The missing piece was ‘how are we going to fill these at scale?’ That’s when we reached out to you.”  

When Fernway decided to launch the Traveler, they sent photos of the device and asked if our team could get a Vape-Jet to fill them. “To my surprise—and to our good luck—you were already in contact with [Cilicon] and we were able to design a custom jig which was rapidly prototyped by the Vape-Jet team,” Kevin says. Within a week of that discussion, Fernway validated their new product’s workflow with Vape-Jet automation, ensuring they would not have to invest in additional equipment.   

A few months later when the devices arrived, they came with additional jigs based on Vape-Jet’s initial prototype. “Now, we’re selling tens of thousands a month,” Kevin says. “I would categorize [the Traveler] launch as smooth as [a product launch] could possibly go. So I think that’s a credit to you and a credit to the Cilicon team.”  

Kevin’s Vape-Jet Tips and Tricks

  1. ‘Keep the machines clean!’: “Make sure you’re fully cleaning out the reservoirs after every batch.” Kevin highlights the importance of running isopropyl alcohol through the PTFE lines to ensure operators won’t encounter residual oil from the previous batch.  
     
  2. ‘Take it slow!’: “Once the [Vape-Jet] is up and running, it’s filling a tray of 100 vape cartridges in five or six minutes. There’s no reason to rush the manual parts of the process along.”  

The Power of Partnership 

“I really do appreciate our partnership here. I feel like, even though you’re across the country, we’ve got a partner that’s not going to leave us stranded. If we have a problem, I know someone on your team will help us, and you’ll take the time and clear out the schedule. That’s so rare to find out in the market.”  

“It’s been amazing to watch your business grow,” Ryan says. “It’s been one of the highlights of my career to be able to be that partner in this and just work with you guys. And yeah, we’re a solutions provider, but that feedback loop and the connections we’ve made over the past couple of years… it’s been a highlight of my career, so I really appreciate it.  

What’s next for Fernway?

Kevin mentions a new seasonal pumpkin spice flavor for their Traveler (released in October) and launching a line of live resin vape cartridges for the ultimate cannabis experience. 

Want to share your Vape-Jet story?

Reach out to our crew and let them know you’re ready for your customer feature. Check out our other customer success stories: C3 Industries, True North Collective, Terrapin Care Station.

If you are interested in providing the highest-quality product for your customers, reach out to our crew to learn how Vape-Jet can provide next-level products for your customers.    

While you’re at it, don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Re:Fill newsletter to get early access to company updates, product releases, and other exciting announcements. Follow us on the essentials, too: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

Categories
Jet Fueler Jet-Fueler Uncategorized Vape-Jet

True North Collective MI: Customer Feature

A Shared Dedication to Quality

When it comes to offering transformative solutions for your customers, you have to embrace a growth mindset that challenges the status quo. Every day, our team at Vape-Jet has lived by this ethos, and we love when others do too. That’s why it should be no surprise that today, we’re focusing on True North Collective—an unapologetically authentic purveyor of craft cannabis products.  

As one of Michigan’s premier cannabis brands, you can bet that the True North Collective (TNC) team doesn’t take any shortcuts. Since 2019, they’ve emphasized the healing potential of cannabis and have cultivated multi-award-winning products for medical and recreational users alike. 

True North Collective - From Michigan, For Michigan | Click to Learn More

With three brands in the TNC family, it didn’t take long before their vape cartridge-filling production needed a boost. Most importantly, this wasn’t a time to take shortcuts with their operation. Recognizing the innovation and quality behind Vape-Jet products reflected their own high standards, Vape-Jet automation and True North Collective were a perfect match. TNC decided to invest in our Vape-Jet 3.0 fully automatic and a Jet Fueler 2.0 semi-automatic filler, and that’s where our story begins.  

This week, we sat down with TNC-Michigan’s Distillation Director, Joey Stutz to see how their operation had changed since acquiring our cartridge-filling machines: 

Vape-Jet in action at True North Collective’s Michigan facility.

Before and After 

Before investing in their first Vape-Jet, TNC was filling cartridges by hand with a generic cartridge-filling gun. Since there were no heating elements in the filling gun, fill techs had to heat the oil separately. With this heating variable added to an already physically intensive filling process, TNC had to dedicate up to six employees at a time for filling and capping, which limited them to filling 50-100 cartridges at a time and up to 1,000-2,000 a day. 

And after they bought a Vape-Jet? 

With the Vape-Jet they can fill about 4,000 distillate cartridges per day—and that’s with one person for filling and capping. Needless to say, that was a huge improvement over hand-filling! 

With the speed and precision of a Vape-Jet in their facility, TNC saw an opportunity to use our semi-automatic Jet Fueler to generate new products, like a line of premium sauce cartridges coming to market soon. For businesses looking to accelerate their growth by adding product lines—or rapidly boosting their throughput to meet demand and enter new markets—the flexibility of a Vape-Jet and Jet Fueler tandem is highly effective. 

With their move to Vape-Jet automation, TNC also switched to AVD EazyPress cartridges (one of Vape-Jet’s most filled hardware suppliers) for a seamless production workflow. “We did R&D on a bunch of different disposables, pods, and other carts that aren’t EasyPress, but ultimately the best flavor came from the EasyPress AVD [cartridges],” Joey says. 

Jet Fueler 2.0 The Most Advanced Semi-Automatic Vape Cartridge Filling Machine - Click to Learn More

Labor Cost 

By switching to Vape-Jet, True North Collective reduced its labor needs by 83% while doubling its production output.  

“The Vape-Jet is automated, so you need someone in the room watching it, but they can also be doing something else while the machine is running itself. It’s not like that person is just dedicated to filling the entire time or just dedicated to one other process. The machine makes it so that one person can get carts ready, they can get the oil ready for the carts and mix the terpenes into it, they can watch the machine and cap at the same time. [The Vape-Jet] makes it very easy for us to reduce the amount of labor overall,” Joey says. “We don’t even have to use the VJ every day right now because it can fill so many, and it’s so efficient.”  

What about fill accuracy? Any improvement there?  

Although their hand-filling operator was very skilled and experienced, it would have been difficult if they had to train someone new. “Whereas the Vape-Jet comes in, and you just work a computer a little bit, and you’re good to go,” Joey says. “There’s not a lot of skill required to operate this machine, just knowledge.”  

How easy is it to operate a Vape-Jet? Contact our crew to request a live demo and see for yourself.

Vape-Jet Product Support 

Creating an extensive, easily accessed online product support library has been, and remains, a main focus for the Vape-Jet team. With an abundance of resources for new Vape-Jet users and veterans alike, folks can easily find: 

Joey emphasizes this comprehensive approach to product support as a key component of the success TNC has had with their machines. “Anytime we have an issue, I go online or send a support message, and they’re on it within a day. If it’s super time-sensitive,” Joey continues, “[Vape-Jet support] is right on it. Just the other day, we had an issue with the needle, and they got on within 30-45 minutes. Customer service is great.”   

Operator Tips from Joey 

  • For faster changeover between batches, make sure to purchase an extra reservoir for oil so you can have it ready as soon as your cleaning cycle ends. You can also get a DropTank Oil Preheater to perform hot swaps and save more time. 
  • Try to run the same cannabis strain back-to-back so you don’t have to wait for the cleaning process. 
  • Always be aware if the nitrogen is connected or disconnected to the oil reservoir (depending on the task at hand) because it can make a huge mess.  
Vape-Jet 4.0 | The Most Advanced Fully-Automatic Vape Cartridge Filling Machine - Click to Learn More

Why Vape-Jet? 

Ease of use 

“I really like the efficiency of your machine. You literally just put the brick in there, it fills the brick, and then you take the brick out. It’s that easy,” Joey explains. “Every other machine that we saw was a little bit more manual or had some other things that you had to do to them.”  

Operation Consistency 

“I also liked that the Vape-Jet was a single fill vs. filling 100 cartridges at one time because I’ve never seen that work correctly.”   

Pricing 

“The price is excellent. It’s probably 50-66% the cost of the machines that claim they can do a similar amount.” And that’s without getting into fill repeatability, where the Vape–Jet outpaces all competitors with a fill variability of ±0.25%. That’s more precise than a single drop of oil! 

Look 

“And,” Joey emphasizes, “it looks cool! It’s something that when someone is touring the facility, they look at it and they’re like ‘That looks pretty cool!’ instead of a big clunky machine just sitting there that we have to explain what it does.” 

“10/10 Would Recommend” 

Before we said goodbye, we asked Joey how likely he was to recommend our vape cartridge-filling machines to others: “10/10—would recommend,” Joey said. We can’t ask for a better score than that! 

As they look to ramp up production soon (and possibly bring another Vape-Jet on board), we wish True North Collective the very best moving forward. We couldn’t be happier to watch their customer-centered focus on quality pay off. We also want to thank Joey Stutz for taking the time to speak with us and share his unique insights. It’s always a pleasure speaking with other folks who are passionate about cannabis and process development. 

If you want to experience freedom from workflow, labor, and product quality constraints that Joey describes, contact our sales team and join the Vape-Jet Revolution! 

Interested in learning more? Browse one of our other informational blogs:  

While you’re at it, don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Re:Fill newsletter to get early access to company updates, product releases, and other exciting announcements. Follow us on the essentials, too: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

Categories
Vape-Jet

Terrapin Care Station: Customer Feature

Terrapin Customer Feature

A Look at Vape-Jet From Terrapin’s Perspective

In our blog, we’ve talked a lot about the Vape-Jet difference; that is, the difference our products make by liberating your production processes from rigid technology constraints and scaling with the success of your business. Whether it’s lower operating costs, freeing up your production workflow, or leveraging the intelligence of Vape-Jet software, our machines are revolutionizing vape cartridge production, and we’ve got the numbers to back it up.  

But this is only part of the story. To fill in some important context, we need to change our perspective a bit. Because we always maintain close contact with our customers, we reached out to get the inside scoop on our equipment in action. After all, the cannabis industry is at its best when we empower each other to continue improving, meet ever-changing customer needs, and celebrate our wins together.   

If we are discussing high-quality cannabis products and building consumer-focused solutions, we have to talk about Terrapin Care Station. Founded in 2009 in Boulder, Colorado, Terrapin has expanded its operations to include Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Michigan. As a cannabis cultivator, processor, and retail provider, you can bet that competitive pricing and strict quality control are paramount to Terrapin’s success—and they have had a lot of success.   

For 13 years, Terrapin has served as a pioneer and leader in the cannabis industry. Prioritizing community engagement—especially around equity and sustainability. Terrapin leads workshops, expungement fairs, and even provides scholarships for cannabis vocational training. In short, Terrapin demonstrates the power of our industry to enact positive social change by investing in the communities they serve and advancing political advocacy and justice initiatives for the people. 

Terrapin Care Station: Cannabis Grown with a Local Mindset. Click to learn more.

Since they field three Vape-Jet fully-automatic filling machines and one Jet Fueler semi-automatic vape cartridge-filling machine, we decided to check in with our friends at Terrapin to see how our products have affected their operation. If we were going to talk to anyone, though, we had to speak with the team member they call the Vape-Jet Guru.

“Four Minutes for Fifty 1g Carts? No Problem.” 

How it Started vs. How It’s Going 

Who is this Vape-Jet Guru? Say “hello” to Terrapin’s Filling Line Lead and in-house master of our fully-automatic vape cartridge-filling machine, Kimberly Long. Working out of Terrapin’s Pennsylvania location, Kimberly has used our machines since 2020 after switching from a competitor’s semi-automatic filler, and things couldn’t be going better. According to Kimberly, before the switch, two operators could only fill approximately 2,500 cartridges during an eight-hour shift. Now, with one operator on our Vape-Jet, she says, we can fill 5,000-6,000 cartridges in eight hours. If the new second shift can match first shift’s pace, “we should be filling about 10,000 [cartridges] a day.” To date, they’ve filled over 600,000. 

That’s a lot of carts! So many, in fact, that Terrapin once maxed out the data storage capacity of one of their machines—a Vape-Jet first! One operator, more cartridges, better quality control, pushing vape cartridge filling to the limit… that’s a beautiful thing.  

The Vape-Jet Difference 

With Vape-Jet, Terrapin doubled their daily output with half the labor and half the labor cost of their previous machine. “I don’t need two people dedicated to one thing when I can have one person dedicated to it,” Kimberly says. As our COO Devon Reid mentioned in our blog, “Is Vape Cartridge Filling Automation Worth It?”, freeing up labor and eliminating bottlenecks is what Vape-Jet equipment does best, allowing users to reallocate resources to where they are needed most.   

With their Vape-Jet machines reaching average fill speeds of three and a half minutes for 50 0.5g cartridges (and four minutes for 50 1g cartridges), Terrapin has not only reduced labor costs but, through increased efficiency and filling accuracy, filled a much higher quota than before.

Machine Features 

The Vape-Jet Guru highlighted several features of the Vape-Jet that allow it to thrive in Terrapin’s fast-paced environment while maintaining high quality control standards.

Superior Accuracy 

For quality control, Terrapin operators weigh every one hundred cartridges to ensure accurate fill weights and have found the Vape-Jet to be incredibly accurate. Just yesterday, Kimberly mentioned, they only lost ten cartridges out of five thousand total, only four of which were because of fill weight (the other six due to cartridge hardware defects). 

Three Independent Heat Zones   

While their previous machine only heated at one point—causing filling nightmares from letting distillate sit in an unheated fluid path—the Vape-Jet’s chamber, needle, and reservoir are all independently heated. The filling process is much smoother now, Kimberly assured us.

Product Support  

Terrapin operators can go about their day confidently, knowing that our industry-leading product support team has their back. Our Guru has completed self-repairs on the Vape-Jet with the support of our team and used the Vape-Jet HelpDesk to self-educate. “[Your team] has been a great help!” Kimberly says, “You guys are very responsive and get parts overnighted. I come in and fix [the Vape-Jet], and we get things going.”

Data Reporting

Our CEO Ryan Hoitt identified data compliance and collection as one of the key hidden costs of automation. “With industry compliance needs constantly changing,” he says, “it is essential to manufacture your products with compliant hardware.”

Additionally, Kimberly mentions that using the data reporting feature allows her to review the performance of other operators and fine-tune output for maximum capacity. “When the other operator goes to lunch, I’ll jump in and run it,” Kimberly says, “I checked [the Vape-Jet] and sped up the dispensing charge a little bit. I had looked previously, and it was at four minutes 20-something seconds, so I ran a few carts and got her down to four minutes twelve seconds per tray.”

Of course, ten seconds might not seem like much until you consider how many trays Terrapin fills a day—that’s a whole lot of labor!

Tips from Terrapin’s Vape-Jet Guru 

We had to ask whether someone with the nickname “Vape-Jet Guru” had any Vape-Jet tips to pass along. Here are a couple of things Kimberly mentioned:   

  • Customize your filling speed and heat based on distillate properties (e.g. viscosity) to fine-tune and maximize output. You can also work more efficiently by saving configurations and profiles.  
  • Keeping your machine vision lens clean makes a noticeable difference in cart analysis time and overall fill time, especially if you’re constantly running your Vape-Jet like Terrapin does!

Learn More About Vape-Jet  

We want to thank the Terrapin team —and especially the Vape-Jet Guru, Kimberly Long—for not only taking the time to give us an inside peek at their operation but for prioritizing high vape cartridge production standards and for making a positive impact in the cannabis industry and their local communities. We couldn’t be prouder to see our equipment in such capable hands and look forward to watching Terrapin continue to thrive.  

If you want to experience the greatness of your own Vape-Jet, all you need to do is drop us a line. While you’re at it, don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Re:Fill newsletter to get early access to company updates, product releases, and other exciting announcements. Follow us on the essentials, too: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.