Helderpad

Helderpad is a leader in designing and distributing robust ethanol extraction, solvent recovery, and short-path distillation systems. The company serves clients globally across the hemp/cannabis, nutraceutical, and essential oils industry.

“We’re focused on innovation; we keep our ears to the ground and pay attention to what customers are looking toward in the future,” says Klaas Hesselink, partner, sales, and strategic development, Helderpad.

Helderpad’s arsenal of experienced staff is led by Derek Houston, president, and Hesselink. Utilizing their extensive experience, the duo brings cutting-edge technologies to the cannabis industry that create real, tangible outcomes for clients. Simply put, Helderpad designs and distributes equipment and protocols to provide companies with a smooth, repeatable, and continuous process for taking target constituents the plant materials and concentrating them into clean, potent oils for infusion into final products

Helderpad was born from the realization that producing potent, pure, and consistent extracts were an essential part of the maturity of the cannabis industry; particularly, that a pure and doseable base oil was necessary for the success of the many products being made where the taste of cannabis is not ideal and consistent potency is key. Because of this need, Helderpad worked to incorporate and improve on high vacuum, short path distillation technology as a staple of cannabis concentrates processing. Using Helderpad’s short-path distillation systems, clients can separate the cannabinoids (THC, CBD, etc.) from the terpenes, flavonoids, fats, and lipids to produce a pure and potent oil product for infusion into vaporizers, edibles, or topicals. Clients can now make higher-quality goods using the distillate produced by Helderpad’s systems: goods that will be more consistent in dosage, smell, flavor, and overall quality because the potent distillate requires smaller quantities for infusion and is devoid of taste, smell, and residual solvent that would otherwise affect the clients’ final products.

Another major challenge plaguing the hemp sector is the need for continuous flow of operations. The industry produces massive amounts of biomass that has to be extracted and refined. Continuity is vital for these processes. However, standard technology only allows batch process extraction, where extracts are limited to 10 to 50 pounds per batch. This involves many interim processes and is inefficient and time-consuming. Helderpad solved this problem by designing a Continuous Screw Extractor capable of processing 125lbs upto 1250lbs per hour. It allows clients to continuously pump products at the speed they want based on desired extraction efficiency and potency of the input materials. Aside from continuous processing, a major benefit of Helderpad’s continuous extraction system is the reduction of labor. Compared to batch operators, Helderpad’s design allows for one operator to manage the system as all operational controls are located in the control room from where the processes can be regulated, and once the parameters are optimized, the operator is free to work on other processing tasks with minimal oversight of the extractor thus creating a safe and efficient environment for employees.
Helderpad also does comprehensive strategic development with other technology companies looking to get into the cannabis space or other markets using extracts. For instance, a company trying to get its product into the cannabis industry sent their expert team to Helderpad’s facility to work on their material in conjunction with the latter’s machinery and consultations. Sometimes a product needs to be fine-tuned in order to make the end product–or the process to make the end product– better.

Beyond cannabis, there are many products out there benefiting from the evolution of extraction and distillation technologies; basically, any herb, fruit, or oil has the ability to be separated, cleaned, and concentrated, into more useful or valuable constituents. Helderpad often gets requests from companies to explore if they’ve maximized their efficiency or if there is value in a waste product. Think oranges; once the juice is out, the peels hold valuable oil and terpenes; this is where extraction and distillation come in. Helderpad helps companies to find or fine tune their product to become more valuable.

“What makes us stand out in the industry is our knowledge: our team of technicians and experts understand the practical applications of the equipment being used in the cannabis industry. In the coming years, we aim to improve and expand our solutions to serve clients more effectively,” says Houston.