Cannacurio Podcast Episode 74 with Coleman Retzlaff of Quest

In this episode of the Cannacurio Podcast, Ed Keating interviews Coleman Retzlaff, National Sales Director at Quest Climate. Coleman shares how Quest’s high-efficiency dehumidifiers revolutionize cannabis cultivation, discusses energy-saving innovations, and reveals common grower mistakes. Dive into this episode for expert tips on boosting yields and sustainability!

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Cannacurio Podcast Episode 74

Ed Keating: Welcome to the Cannacurio Podcast, powered by Cannabiz Media. I’m your host, ed Keating. And on today’s show, we’re joined by Coleman Retzlaff, national Sales Director at Quest Climate. Coleman, welcome.

Coleman Retzlaff: Hey, thanks for having me today.

Ed Keating: Absolutely. Absolutely. So I’m hoping you can tell us a little bit about your professional background. Like how did you find your way? Well, I guess first in the Quest, but also into the cannabis space. ’cause we all have our own unique journeys I’ve learned, uh, through this podcast.

Coleman Retzlaff: Yeah, and a journey at has been. I think without belaboring in too much, really, so Thermo Store is the name of the company that manufactures the Quest brand, and we manufacture, basement and crawlspace dehumidifiers in one channel, and flood restoration equipment in another channel here, all under that thermo store umbrella. I’m looking at a 19 year anniversary in, in August with Thermo Store.

Ed Keating: Wow. Congrats.

Coleman Retzlaff: Um, so it’s been a bit of a, of a path of opportunity really for me. I originally came over kind of on the service side of things as a tech advisor troubleshooting on the phone, and then an opportunity as quality manager in our manufacturing operations for a number of years, and then got into, um, uh. Sales, uh, on kind of the technical training aspect, uh, years ago. Uh. The predecessor to Quest today, uh, did a number of things and temporary building heat was one of those things with, uh, electric or, uh, diesel fired hydronic. Um, and so we got into pest control during the bedbug epidemic, um, and then construction rental with a lot of our portable equipment. Um, so that had me going all over the us. And then, um, you know, I think, uh, shortly after the recession, uh, kind of went back to. Quality manager for a while, and the opportunity came, uh, to, to join the ag team. And it was really, um, you know, truly a blessing for me. I went to one trade show and I said, these, these are my people. I have something to contribute here. And, you know, it’s been a, it’s been a great journey. And, and I think that was, um, almost nine years ago.

Ed Keating: Wow. Yeah, no, that, that’s, I’ve been in the cannabis space a little bit longer. We started in 2015. But it is interesting, you, you go to trade shows and, and you really do get to see, you know, what people are concerned about, what they’re excited about. So, you know, certainly in, in role as national Sales Director, is that the place where you connect with growers and operators in the cannabis industry?

Coleman Retzlaff: Well, we, um, uh, you know, as, as the Quest team, uh, from a boots on the ground standpoint, um, you know, trade shows is one aspect where we can connect, uh, at all levels, whether it’s, um, you know, at the grower level, uh, uh, building maintenance, um. Uh, the, the manufacturing side, um, to the, the owner’s investors. Um, you know, but on a, on a weekly basis, we are out in the field, um, you know, working with, uh, the re resellers of our equipment. Uh, we directly, uh, are into, uh, cultivations facilities providing consultation on, um, e existing, uh, equipment as well as, you know, um, you know. Uh, new build out opportunities.

Ed Keating: Yeah.

Coleman Retzlaff: trying to provide direction and sizing and making people aware of that value proposition and an ROI on equipment, um, a along with understanding, you know, what, what humidity control does, uh, for the plant and, you know, bringing success to, uh, uh, to the grower.

Ed Keating: Awesome. Sort of digging into sort of that, the, the Quest climate overview. You, you guys are known for your expertise in environmental control, so you know, what sets what you guys do apart from others in the industry when it comes to, let’s say, dehumidification or climate control systems? Because, you know, I’m sure there are others that are doing what you guys do, but, uh, you know, te tell me how you guys stand out and, and compete in this space.

Coleman Retzlaff: Yeah. You know, I think it’s a story of similar but different or, you know, that difference in being an industry leader from an innovation side of things. Um, you know, early on it was, Quest identifying the need for high-efficiency, large capacity dehumidification in cultivations where, you know, we came in and people were running, a lot of small Chinese, Korean made dehumidifiers that really weren’t built for this high capacity, right load that’s that’s expected on equipment. So we were kind of the first large capacity dehumidifier in the space – you know, first to say, Hey, let’s hang this overhead, get it off the floor, you know, that’s valuable real estate; and that’s where we’re able to be most effective, pulling, moisture out of the air when we’re mounted above the heat load of the lighting.

Ed Keating: Interesting. So it sounds to me too that as you went into this particular vertical, you had all these other historical places where you’d already had success in sort of large scale. I mean, this is an overused expression, not your first rodeo, but, but for thermo store, you guys have been doing this for a long time. So this was merely what, what we said when we created cannabis media. It is simply an agricultural vertical, right?

Coleman Retzlaff: It, yeah. I mean when we started, uh, yes, we were able to pull some products that fit the space and we found out some things worked, some things didn’t. So when you look over time the change in our equipment, tailoring things more towards the cultivation space. The voice of the customer, what’s important to growers, the biggest difference here that that’s worth highlighting is from an innovation standpoint is the introduction of our core refrigeration system. It’s a multi coil refrigerant recovery is a fancy word for it that, um, you know, it’s a patented system. Um, and there hasn’t been a new patent in refrigeration in decades. And it basically lets us be head and shoulders above our closest competitor being more energy efficient, pulling more water per kilowatt hour out of the air. And that directly affects the, uh, the pocketbook, uh, of our customers being able to pull, you know, more margin dollars out of every pound grow.

Ed Keating: Yeah, I was just about to ask you how important is it to do that? And you answered the question because yeah, that, that, that’s absolutely spot on. And especially, you know, the, the margin pressure in some markets I can imagine that is, uh, is super important to, to your customers and, you know, as you referenced the voice of the customer and the pocket of your customer, you know, super important things to, to be sensitive to in, in the current market. Um, you know, thinking about the technology and innovation, uh, of Quest. One interesting angle is, are there common mistakes that cultivators make when it comes to environmental controls? Like you mentioned earlier, at the outset of the industry, people were just, you know, getting inexpensive, uh, inappropriately sized hardware for the space. But are there other common mistakes that you’re seeing because, you know, you’ve got a, a long time in this space.

Coleman Retzlaff: Um, yeah, and I think you hit on it, is, is, you know, the most common thing is undersizing, uh, for the dehumidification load necessary, uh, uh, in, in the cultivation rooms. Um, uh. Uh, so, you know, and, and that’s, that’s a lot of pressures either between, uh, education, um, selling Deification is, is really a highly educational sell. Uh, it’s not just buying a box off the shelf, uh, thinking it’s gonna do it all. Um, there’s some math behind it. Uh, and although it’s very simple math, um, uh, it can be either, either very easily overlooked or. Um, you know, financially impacted, um, by somebody wanting to, uh, limp in or, you know, they just don’t wanna spend the money type of thing. Um, you know, quest is, is, you know, there’s a value proposition to that innovation and energy efficiency. So we aren’t the cheapest solution, you know, but there’s, uh, there’s the saying, you know, buy once, cry once, um, because we do see. A number of people going out trying to buy some of the cheap Chinese solutions that are coming into the market now. Um, and it’s a lot of those stories have ended with, boy, we thought we were getting a deal and now we’re ripping everything out and buying Quest. Um, yeah, it’s a cautionary tale at that.

Ed Keating: It always takes me back to the local pizzeria at my hometown. You’ve tried the rest now try the best. Yeah. Um, one thing I, in, in reading, uh, about Quest are, are, are some of the, the features that, that you have introduced, like intuitive dashboard, self-diagnostic, remote error, code visibility. How does, I’m assuming that helps people who may be, you know, running some of these operations maybe remotely or with a skinny down staff because, you know, some of these indoor growers are, are sort of highly technologically run.

Coleman Retzlaff: Uh, yes. Um, you know, so when Quest came into the space, we very much carried a mentality of. Keep it simple. Dump truck technology, mechanical things don’t fail. Um, and we’ve, you know, again, it’s voice of the customer. We’ve, we’ve moved on and we’ve introduced, uh, you know, digital controls, uh, an, you know, an improved user interface. Uh, be begin beginning to incorporate some of those things. Like, hey, let’s, uh, let’s let the customer know when they need to change their filter. Um. You know, it’s definitely one of the, uh, uh, the failures of, of many cultivations is, is not changing their filter frequently enough and restricting that airflow can impact their performance. But then also introducing some things that, you know, from a, um. Uh, from a diagnostic standpoint, from a, can we create error codes that might help steer somebody towards, uh, the solution from a troubleshooting standpoint. Mm-hmm. Or at the very least, you know, give our service technicians on the phone with the customer some feedback to be able to say, here, we’d like you to try A, B, and C. Um, and if it’s. A and B, uh, this is something that you can handle yourself and avoid paying, you know, a service call. Um, uh, but if it’s c well, you know, maybe we’ve got a, a, a, you know, a more impactful statement, requesting more professional help or assistance in, in resolving, you know, a mechanical issue or, you know, if it’s sealed system related, which those are the components that hold the refrigerant in. Um, those are things our customers aren’t, aren’t, aren’t gonna be able to handle themselves.

Ed Keating: Got it. Well, it’s interesting ’cause it seems like in terms of, you know, bringing out those enhancements, it’s a little bit of that crawl, walk, run, don’t, as you said, you know, truck technology in and, and sort of, uh, bludgeon people with it and now you’re meeting them where they’re at, where they do need it or they require, or maybe they even demand it. So, that’s pretty cool. Uh, thinking of the technology stack, and this is something I deal with on the data side, I’m curious if you know the infamous ai, artificial intelligence is having any. Uh, impact on, on, you know, what you guys do or sort of, you know, any demands from your customers in terms of what they’re looking for.

Coleman Retzlaff: Well, we do see it as companies begin to incorporate higher level building management controls or, grow controls that not are, just, aren’t just looking at temperature and humidity. They’re looking at temperature, humidity, lighting. They’re taking measurements at the canopy to understand vapor pressure at any given time, and wrapping that into a single dashboard system. So those are, are usually third party systems, and I hear this more and more trying to create more predictive setups as it comes to how they control their environment, what their nutrient regimen is, what the lighting levels are and how a plant reacts differently. Sometimes, you know, by strain, some of them play nicely together and others act very differently under the same conditions – really just trying to dial that in to create the greatest yield outcomes. Trying to find, you know, again, the secret sauce everybody’s after to make things repeatable, and be able to gauge future looking production.

Ed Keating: Got it. Yeah, that makes sense. And I, I think that’s also a crawl, walk, run thing. I mean, it’s easy to spout the buzzwords, but you know, if, if you’re taking in insights from, you know, all those different metrics, it can be useful to have sort of one ring to rule them all, or, or, or, or, or one interface to, to, to help you make sense of it. Um, one of the other areas that, uh, I was curious about I is around the space of sustainability. You know, in, in this podcast I talked to people who are on the packaging side over the years and a lot of talk about sustainability and also energy efficiency. And when you and I last spoke, uh, a couple months ago, I told you that we’re going to Cannabis Europa and, you know, to see sort of what that market was like. And you said that, um. You guys had already, you know, been to Europe, there was opportunity there. One thing that we found out, um, was in Germany. It was only one cultivator. Uh, because apparently the cost of electricity and energy is so high there that it just doesn’t make sense. So, you know, is that an impact for, for, for your company as you figure out sort of where you can go in, you know, Europe and I guess in the states too, but, you know, does that energy factor come in and, and how big a piece of that, I guess, is it in the decision making of your clients?

Coleman Retzlaff: Absolutely. Quest is an international, global brand that we are selling to international markets. Having you know, a green view on what we do and a striving to lessen the carbon footprint, the impact that our equipment and operation, understanding that total cost of ownership side of things.You know, hits on a couple of different things. I mean, the easy, the low hanging fruit is the whole energy efficiency thing. If we pull more water out of the air per kilowatt hour than anybody else, that alone is a steering value proposition for most of our customers to understand they’re gonna spend less electricity, uh, to go through, um, their operations, but because we’re pulling water out of the air, we also have that ability to reuse that condensate water, in a lot of areas that might have water scarcity types of issues. We’ve even begun, you know, exploring kind of the whole idea of, uh, atmospheric water generation for potable, drinkable water. So that’s definitely a guiding principle to what we do. Myself and all of my sales reps are Leed Green certified. So I mean, it was important enough for us to go through that process of, of certification for us to, to be able to speak intelligently and work with the engineering community as it comes to the design of facilities, and how we can contribute to impacting this world of ours less.

Ed Keating: Interesting. So, so in addition to, let’s say energy efficiency and sustainability, um, you know, what are some of the other operational challenges that cultivators are facing right now? And, and I’m wondering, does it vary by market? Like, we hear a lot about Michigan where the, you know, the price has gone so low that it’s almost unsustainable. Um, you know. You know, same thing in other places where there’s moratorium, but just sort of curious from your standpoint, you know, what are some of those challenges that, that cultivators are, are dealing with?

Coleman Retzlaff: I look at it in a multitude of different ways and how our industry has kind of morphed over time. I think that leads with some of the government related side on banking and descheduling has been a constraint on the industrry. Uh, here, you know, over the last, well, forever, it’s been a concern forever. Um, but kind of that, uh, toying with, with it has, has made things, uh, a bit more difficult. Um, and then you have the, uh, the systematic adoption of, uh, medical or recreational laws in individual states and how those individual states choose to, um, you know, write, write their laws.Um, and it always seems like every state. It says. I can do it better than everybody that’s done it before. And, uh, I don’t have lessons to learn. Um, you know, so we’ve seen a lot of, um, you know, gold rush markets like, uh, you know, Oklahoma and, and a lot of very restrictive soul, uh, slow rollout markets. Um, you know, like, um, you know, New Jersey and New York has been a very slow, slow, Georgia

Ed Keating: and Alabama,

Coleman Retzlaff: you know, and then, you know, a lot of, uh. Good old boy markets like, you know, Florida and, and Illinois. And, uh, unless you had the bank role or the pedigree, you weren’t, you weren’t getting a license. Um, yeah, good point. So, you know, uh, yes, there are a lot of challenges and I think at the end of the day, um, you know, again, the lowest common denominator is in the state that you’re operating in. What are the pricing pressures that. A, a apply to your ability to get top dollar for the product that you’re producing.

Ed Keating: Yeah. And at the lowest cost, like, uh, I’m thinking here in Connecticut, you know, wins state north of us is Massachusetts and the town of Springfield was touting themselves as kind of a cannabis mecca because, uh, I think they’ve got their own hydroelectric, uh, plant there that the town. I’m gonna say controls, that may not be the right word, but they have a really low price per kilowatt hour. And that’s really appealing to people because it, it is a, a factor, uh, you know, in your pricing, land, labor, and capital. Um, if you can manage that, that, that can be a big leg up on other places in the state. So, and if it ever goes to your point, you know, beyond the state boundaries that were constrained, uh, constrained by now. Um, you know, once again, looking back at your customers, and this is a question that I often ask in the podcast, which is, you know, we know obviously that cultivators are, are your main market. Uh, but how does that differ as you go one level down, like craft growers versus MSOs, I dare say home growers. I don’t know if they’re a big piece, but, you know, how, how does that factor into the decision making that, that, that you do? Especially just, you know, obviously running the sales team.

Coleman Retzlaff: Well, um, so, uh, you know, quest, you know, sometimes is a, a accused of being commercial. Um, and although yes, we do that well, we also do manufacture, you know, very small dehumidifiers. Um, so, you know, we can be very much right for, uh, many different home growers. Um, the. Uh, so we’ve got a little something for everybody and, you know, our, our two market strategy, you know, really, um. You know, it exemplifies that with, um, our relationships with the retailers. Um, so the local grow store that you have, uh, has access to, uh, quest equipment and they’re able to help you, um, build out a room in your home, or they have, uh, you know, uh, relationships with. Craft growers and, you know, they can bring us in to, you know, help, um, um, with a recommendation based upon the design of, of those, those small to to mid-tier grows, uh, to, to the MSOs that are Yeah. Are, um, you know, working with, uh, consultants and, um, mechanical engineering teams. Um. And, and I, I like to think that my team possesses that ability to speak all of those languages. Um, you know, from the grower to the mechanical engineer to the investor. Um, you know, to be able to really, you know, hone in on, um, not only what Quest does from a. Um, you know, horticulture aspect in, uh, having plants thrive in their, in their climate. Um, but also, you know, what does that ROI look like right in choosing Quest over somebody else? What’s that payback period look like? How do we, how do we rope in? Um, you know, what that cost per kilowatt hour is in your area. And, uh, you know, something that’s been more and more prominent over the last number of years is how many power companies are participating, um, and awarding rebates, uh, on choosing Quest equipment. So, you know, you’re buying a dehumidifier and they are giving you hundreds of dollars back on every dehumidifier because they see that you are choosing. You’re choosing to pay more for something that’s gonna save electricity. So having less of an impact on, on the grid and the power available in every state, um, has a financial backend to it.

Ed Keating: It’s interesting you mentioned that. Um, we actually have a dashboard in our product that, uh. I think it tracks the power company to the license holder across the US and, and, you know, people use it, I think for, I think it’s mostly a rebate tool just to sort of see what the coverage is and, and, and who they need to go after. So maybe we can talk about that after we wrap up. Um, um, one of the, uh, the other questions that I came across in my research is, you know, are companies in your space moving to. Subscription based climate control services, like, uh, I wanna say it like, uh, CL Climate as a service, if you will. Is that a thing yet, or is that just some, you know, fun, fun buzzword to throw around?

Coleman Retzlaff: Um. I don’t know that it’s necessarily a thing yet. Um, what I, I would say on a subscription basis would be, uh, not necessarily from Quest, but the, um, you know, the HVAC companies that, uh, cultivators are working with. Um. I en, I encourage cultivators to have a strong relationship with their HVAC company. Uh, buying into that service plan, understanding that, you know, when equipment fails, I guarantee you it’s your daughter’s birthday or your anniversary. Um, and what are you gonna choose? Um. Having them on call. Uh, the subscription service probably falls into, um, a regular maintenance, things like changing filters, um, uh, so that you’ve got somebody not necessarily paid for on your team, but a third party that’s coming in, helping you with regularity, making you aware of any deficiencies that they see. Um. Um, it’s, it’s the eyes and ears that are more trained than the people usually on our team as it comes to understanding the operation of air conditioning and de humidification. Um, yeah. As a helpful tool.

Ed Keating: Yeah, no, that, that definitely, uh, definitely makes sense. So sort of, you know, the speaking. A little bit of the go to market. Um, one selfless question I wanna ask is, um, you guys have been subscribers to cannabis media for a while. How do we help you, you know, bridge that gap between Quest and the marketplace in terms of, you know, maybe finding new customers or watching where, uh, markets are growing contracting?

Coleman Retzlaff: Yeah, absolutely. Um, so. Uh, cannabis media has, has had a lot of tools that have been, have been, you know, very helpful for us. Um, uh, so regularly being able to, um, uh, identify an area, uh, be able to select your target, um, and be able to send out, uh, emails. Uh, whether it’s it’s providing notice of, uh, a new piece of equipment or, uh, consultations available or, Hey, just meet, meet your, your regional rep. Here’s a phone number so that the day you need it, you’ve, you’ve, you’ve got a little something, uh, to lean upon. Um. Uh, the, the data that your team has been able to provide, um, with, uh, appropriate contacts and verified, uh, phone numbers and emails, um, allows us to. Reach out directly. And a lot of times this is, you know, falls under, um, sometimes investigatory, uh, side of things. Um, we’re aware of a project and the leads go quiet and we know there’s this opportunity there. Well, maybe I can get in with. Somebody on the purchasing side or the master grower and just say, Hey, you know, quest is here. If you need a little help, uh, you know, we’d like to help you over the finish line, you know, and show you. You know, again, it’s, it’s highly educational, so sometimes if you don’t have that opportunity to be able to have a conversation. All they’re looking at is price. And, uh, how many mistakes are made when we just look at price and we don’t understand the big picture and the values that, uh, that are brought, um, you know, by a premium piece of equipment, uh, with a, you know, a trustworthy name like Quest has, uh, developed in the industry.

Ed Keating: Well, I love your point from earlier, buy once, cry once. I’m gonna remember that. And now I’m gonna, I’m gonna, uh, give you credit for it to hat tip on that one. So, um, so in terms of sort of forward looking and, and future looking, um, anything on the horizon for Quest climate, like, you know, new introductions you can talk about. I mean, you know, nothing that’s not public, but just new technologies expansions or, or maybe projects that are, uh, coming in 2025 or beyond.

Coleman Retzlaff: Yeah. You know, I, so I, I briefly mentioned the MCO technology, uh, in our system, and that’s probably the biggest thing for 2025. Um, the government, uh, the EPA mandated an update to, uh, the refrigerants being used. And they do this like every. 15 years or so, and they just kind of say, Hey, um, we need to take the next step to be, um, less ozone, depleting less, uh, greenhouse gas emission related. Um, so here’s the new types of refrigerants that you can build equipment with. Um, so we’ve done a complete redesign, um, of all of our equipment to incorporate these new refrigerants to be able to m uh. Um, implement that m core refrigeration system, um, across our full, full equipment portfolio. Um, so we’ve, we’ve got a lot of new things that if you haven’t really spoken to or, or dove into Quest, uh, you know, in the last six months, uh, it’s a different game. Um, uh, fortunately, uh, with this. Uh, changeover. We’ve also been able to do some tweaks and tunes to some designs. So we’ve gained some energy efficiency, uh, across most of our models. Um, you know, still, you know, the, uh, the world’s most energy efficient dehumidifier has jumped around in our catalog over time as we’ve continued to, uh, to innovate. Um. Beyond that, uh, um, we do have, uh, some new portable equipment, um, that should be coming out in the next couple of months. Um, and again, it’s just, you know, finding the, um, the right tools for the right application. Um, we oftentimes think of your dehumidifiers as permanently installed, uh, in your room, but there are some opportunities for portable equipment, which is more, oh, you know, in the last couple of weeks, uh, uh. I can roll this in and get, uh, um, you know, even lower with my relative humidity or, uh, if I do have a mechanical issue, I’ve got a bit of a safety blanket with, oh, I got the unit in that maintenance room that I can pull out and plug in and, uh, take the edge off while uh, I get a, a service repair coordinated.

Ed Keating: That makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. So. Coleman, if you had one piece of advice for cultivators looking to improve the grow environment, what would it be?

Coleman Retzlaff: To be perfectly honest with you, it would, it would be to, to talk to us.

Ed Keating: Yeah.

Coleman Retzlaff: Um, and I, and I try and relate to people that. This is why we’ve loved working for Quest because it is highly consultative, because it is highly educational, because it is a holistic look at not just what the dehumidifier is gonna do, but how the facility operates and how your choice of air conditioning and um. Some of those things that, that impact the outcomes and, and what your goals are. You know, things have to be designed around, you know, what is that condition you want to be able to hold, you know, late and flower with cool temperatures and how that impacts the performance of equipment. Um, having that, that consultative approach is one where. I believe my team educates you into a sale. We aren’t a high pressure, um, sales organization. Uh, it’s very much, uh, I believe that if I have the opportunity to talk to you and show you what my equipment can do and the energy savings, I’ve led the horse to water. Um, and I believe that I’ll win your, your business based upon that alone.

Ed Keating: Yeah. Well, it really sounds like, you know, when working with Quest, you not only get the hardware, but you get the, the team and, and the expertise that, that you all bring. So, uh, perhaps you could tell our listeners what’s the best way to connect with you or, or, or to learn more about Quest climate.

Coleman Retzlaff: So, um, you’re always welcome to call in to our, our main line. It’s +1 877.420.1330. Yeah. Uh, that’s +1 877.420.1330 Or you can just send us an email at sales@questclimate.com. That’s sales@questclimate.com.

Ed Keating: Excellent. Well, I love how you have the, uh, the 420 in there and, uh, thank you for explaining, uh, a rather technical topic in a, in a way that, uh, you know, I, I really. Came away with a lot and, and I’m sure, uh, the rest of our listeners will as well. So, uh, looking forward to seeing you at an upcoming trade show, Coleman.

Coleman Retzlaff: Thanks. Thanks for the invitation. I truly enjoyed the conversation, Ed.

Ed Keating: Excellent.