Making money off CBD hasn’t proven to be as easy as A-B-C, but that isn’t stopping hemp processing companies from setting up shop locally.

They are looking to capitalize on what many saw as a new cash crop for farmers after the 2018 federal Farm Bill legalized hemp and ignited a hot market for products containing the hemp derivative cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD.

In Simpson County, a new company called Aviette Bioprocessing has announced plans to begin processing locally grown hemp and producing CBD products in a 12,000-square-foot plant on Brown Road in Franklin.

Aviette (French for solo flier) will join the XYZ CBD Group that last year purchased 130 acres in southern Simpson County as a site for growing and processing hemp, and hemp processor Shyne Labs, which is operating in a 12,400-square-foot plant in Franklin’s Wilkey North Industrial Park.

Dennis Griffin, executive director of the Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority, said Shyne Labs is up to 36 employees. XYZ CBD is installing the last of its equipment and should be up and running within weeks.

That growth in hemp – a plant in the same family as marijuana but without the high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content that gives marijuana its psychoactive quality – is coming despite the challenges that have emerged after the initial “gold rush” mentality attached to the crop.

Hemp farming has cooled after that initial hype led to an oversupply of raw product and federal regulatory hurdles and financing issues further eroded markets.

But optimism about the product continues.

“The last few years have been pretty turbulent for the national hemp industry, but we are continuing to see entrepreneurs and innovators start new businesses in this space,” Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said in a news release. “I congratulate Aviette Bioprocessing on opening this facility and creating jobs in the Franklin area. I hope that in the next few years we will see stability in the hemp industry so that our farmers and workers can benefit for years to come.”

Mark Loik, who came to southcentral Kentucky as president and chief executive of the Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel plant in the Kentucky Transpark and is now owner and founder of Aviette Bioprocessing, shares that optimism.

“Kentucky has some of the best hemp grown in the country,” Loik said. “The soil and climate are good, and there are a lot of good farmers here.”

Loik said Aviette already has contracts with some farmers from Warren and Simpson counties. He said equipment is being installed now in preparation for starting production later this year.

Aviette will take raw hemp biomass and make a product Loik is calling “Kentucky Honey CBD,” a distillate product that looks like a translucent oil and is around 80% CBD. It can ultimately be used in the CBD creams, powders and pills sold by retailers.

Loik’s company has a partnership with extractX, a three-year-old Canadian company that designs, builds and operates industrial-scale cannabis and hemp extraction laboratories.

The extractX equipment is being installed now, and Loik said he has already hired a few employees. He has plans to boost Aviette’s employment to 25 people over the next three years and invest about $8 million in the plant over the next five years.

That’s promising news for Simpson County Judge-Executive Mason Barnes.

“Not only is this great news for Simpson County, it is also welcome news for area farmers throughout this region,” Barnes said. “Hemp is becoming a major crop in our state, and I am pleased that Aviette Bioprocessing is creating both manufacturing jobs as well as a new source of income for our farmers.”

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.