Pubdate: Sat, 08 Oct 2005
Source: Business In Vancouver (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 BIV Publications Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.biv.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2458
Author: Paul Harris
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/grow+operations

GROW-OP CLEANUP SEEDS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAPLE RIDGE COMPANY

SCO Medallion Healthy Homes Ltd. Focused On Making Damaged Home
Interiors Inhabitable

Pet odour, mildew and damage to homes from marijuana grow-ops are
fuelling sales for one specialist in healthy indoor environments.

"Lately, grow-ops have been very much in the public eye," said Don
Schmidt, "and the business is very much in demand to clean them up
properly. We get a house to a standard where it can be
re-inhabited."

Schmidt is president of Maple Ridge-based SCO Medallion Healthy Homes
Ltd., which last year sold $1.3 million in equipment and franchise rights.

Sales for the first nine months of this year, however, have dropped to
US$347,699 from US$620,984 in the same period in 2004. The company,
according to its latest financial filing, is "hopeful that the decline
in sales over the last two years has bottomed out."

SCO Medallion's most recent quarterly statement showed sales up at
US$136,055 compared with third-quarter 2004 sales of US$95,961. But
the company is struggling with cash flow, with no cash left as of June
30 and negative cash flow of US$89,035.

SCO listed last fall on the ultra-junior CNQ stock exchange. Shares
are trading at $0.06, down from an IPO price of $0.30 and just above
an annual low of $0.055.

Schmidt knows of one Vancouver franchisee who has worked on at least
30 grow-op cleanups thus far this year. And each franchisee makes an
average of $60,000 a year, he said.

Medallion was founded in 1993 by Dan Molleker, who invented the
equipment and is now in charge of the company's research and
development in Seattle. Medallion began selling franchise rights in
2000. Schmidt was its first franchisee.

The company now has 105 franchises in the United States and 13 in
Canada - five of which are in the Lower Mainland. Franchises are also
being sold in Australia, Saudi Arabia, Korea and China. While
Medallion's head office is in Maple Ridge, franchisees have their own
offices and, in some cases, can work from home.

When asked to improve a building's environment, Medallion's team takes
samples of air, dust and mould.

The solution to the contamination in "85 per cent" of cases, said
Schmidt, involves ozone shock treatment.

"And if the contamination is beyond our scope, we bring in other
professionals to do the job. We also get involved in mould
remediation."

In Vancouver, cleaning up houses previously used for grow-ops is
a useful revenue stream. The city has closed more than 2,200 houses
that were used for grow-ops in the past four years.

"There are a lot of grow-ops out there," said Carlene Robbins,
Vancouver City's manager of bylaws administration.

Having shut down a grow-op building, the property's owner would have
it inspected by the city to assess what repairs are needed. The
property owner would then contract out the work identified by the city
inspector, said Robbins.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin