Michigan Made: Blake's partners with Pleasantrees to open facility in old Gibraltar Trade Center
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Michigan and manufacturing seemingly go hand in hand.
The National Association of Manufacturing says there are more than a half million manufacturing employees in the Mitten and the industry adds billions to the state's economy each year. One place helping to add to that number is housed in the old Gibraltar Trade Center off of I-94 in Mount Clemens.
On the outside, things seem pretty quiet at the old flea market, but on the inside, business is booming.
"We got one of the newest canning lines that's out. It's a counter-pressure canning line that allows us to increase the volume to CO2 in the product to really make sure you get that fizzy taste that you're used to," said Matthew McAlpine, president of Emerald Canning Partners.
"Emerald Canning Partners is one of the first cannabis beverage companies in Michigan," McAlpine said. We've taken all of our beverage experience from fruit-forward beverages and alcohol products and transitioned everything into this facility with SOPs and all the associated asset plans. It's an incredibly regulated industry, so the state does a very thorough job of ensuring that that products are out there."
The facility is a first of its kind in the state.
"We were really one of the first people or companies to outfit with this kind of equipment and a facility like this in the state to really start producing cannabis beverages, so being able to transition all the knowledge and information that we have over that we've learned through Blake's over to here has been really great to see the segment grow," McAlpine said.
They're cranking out thousands of gallons a day of what they say are quality alternative beverages for local consumers.
"Quality is obviously one of our top priorities. We're really very stringent and diligent on quality and safety, making sure that everything is tested before packaging and everything is tested again post-packaging," McAlpine said.