100 years of experience in comminution now also for the Cannabis industry

What happens when you combine a fourth-generation family business, a century of engineering excellence, a 10,000-year-old medical plant, and an industry worth billions?

The answer: a precision standard for cannabis biomass milling, with optimized and proven methods from one of the world’s oldest and most respected laboratory mill manufacturers. By ensuring far greater product integrity and consistency than current analytical and processing methods, FRITSCH’s tools enable extractors and manufacturers to create increased yields and ROIs for their business while delivering higher-quality, premium products for the rapidly growing market of medical cannabis patients and consumers.
“We approach the cannabis industry with the same scientific precision we bring to every other industry we serve,” says Melissa J. Fauth, President & CEO, Fritsch U.S. “Our professional tools and instruments bring cannabis processing out of the greenhouse and onto the cutting edge of the modern laboratory and production suite. FRITSCH’s instruments achieve both qualitative and quantitative leaps forward by providing precision control and parameter fine-tuning for particle size control in plant processing pipelines. Here’s how this new vision of the industry’s future will change the way medical cannabis is processed, both in the US and around the globe.
"FRITSCH is one of the leading manufacturers of application-oriented laboratory instruments worldwide for particle sizing and sample preparation,” says Josh Crossney, CEO and founder of Cannabis Science Events. “They are a Founding Sponsor of the Cannabis Science Conference, and together we are partners with a shared vision to improve laboratory testing.”
“When I first started in this industry,” Crossney says, “cannabis QC and research labs did not fully understand the importance of milling nor homogeneous samples. Melissa Fauth and others at FRITSCH have worked tirelessly to educate these labs through presentations, exhibitions and even demonstrations at our Canna Boot Camps. Together we have advanced cannabis science and improved lab testing. “

For more than five years, beginning in North America, FRITSCH has collaborated with and provided precision cannabis milling equipment to companies throughout the world. Their PULVERISETTE line of cutting mills are specifically optimized for biomass processing, utilizing cutting chambers, knives, and airflow with specialized geometries, designed to mitigate heat and physical stress on plant samples while maintaining the chemical profile. Unlike conventional grinders and shredders, FRITSCH mills provide laboratory precision in particle size uniformity, making these systems ideal for high-quality commercial cannabis production.
“Our foundation and values come from a family business culture established through long term partnership,” says Fauth. “That enables us to deliver individually configured instruments and application support from a single source — while offering a personal guarantee of the quality of every product and service we provide to our partners and collaborators. “A true milling operation with precision cutting is far superior,” says Thomas Rosengren, director of extraction and production at Flower One Holdings. “It maximizes yields of the components we most care about targeting and preserves the integrity of the key actives — flavonoids, cannabinoids, and terpenes — which are located primarily in the trichomes. These chemical compounds give the plant its unique features and effects.”
Additionally, Thomas points out that historic grinding of biomass to reach fine particles is a common and unfortunate occurrence in the extraction process. It exerts mechanical forces which destroy and oxidize the most valuable portions of the plant. Grinding and shearing introduce degradation of the fragile trichomes, as well as rupture of the cellular structure, immediately diminishing the API’s availability in the finished product.

“The secondary challenge with these methods,” Thomas added, “is that byproducts and contaminants are created, setting the stage for increased extraction yield of these undesirable components – demanding additional refinement and cost burden to produce high quality extracts.”
Thomas emphasizes the importance choosing carefully when building an advanced manufacturing process. “Working with technology partners such as FRITSCH who optimize instruments focused on experience for other highly regulated industries, has proven invaluable.” The level and diversity of technology, plus the sophistication of the Flower One’s flagship extraction facility in Nevada, has created a natural collaboration for advancing the development stages of process control and automation for milling. “Handling and demands of manufacturing, especially for processing thousands of pounds of sizeable meristem colas, provides the unique opportunity to institute new controls in the continual drive for process excellence,” Thomas explains. Melissa Fauth added “In working with Flower One and understanding their needs for growth and operational control, we engaged with them to participate in our process expansion project for material handling, monitoring, and conveyance through our partnership with Sample Automation, LLC, and engineering specialist Andrew Winson.”
FRITSCH’s and Sample Automation’s work with Thomas are focused on Flower One’s desire to achieve continuous improvement on quality production and work flow automation, thereby reducing or eliminating specific touch points, potential for degradation or loss of yields. To that end, the Flower One team has enjoyed the process of prototype testing, system upgrades, and modifications to handle this coveted feed stock morphology.
FRITSCH continues to manufacture precision milling systems and particle analysers for a wide range of industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, industrial materials, and nanotechnology — along with aerospace, energy, 3D printing, and high-tech additives where particles size is of critical importance.

FRITSCH’s laboratory instruments have helped transform industry perception where quality analysis and production have increased focus on evolving regulatory oversight. FRITSCH Mills, optimized to meet the challenges of cannabis’ physical properties, deliver consistent, reproducible and homogeneous particle size using a range of good laboratory practice (GLP) and good manufacturing practice (GMP) principles — precisely the same principles utilized in the design of commercial equipment for leading pharmaceutical and industrial companies where SOP oriented operation is required.
This revolutionary line of mills and analysers bring an unprecedented degree of control and precision to the cannabis processing industry. In sharp contrast to traditional tools like trimmers, blenders, and sifting screens, FRITSCH’s milling and sizing systems were engineered for professional laboratory and specialty process applications. These instruments deliver the same standards and level of accuracy, consistency, and product integrity as leading pharmaceutical manufacturing pipelines, where process repeatability and product uniformity are paramount.

FRITSCH’s precision milling processes yield pharmaceutical-grade material for premium extracts, pre-rolls and homogenized isolates. The company’s high-throughput mills enable processors to increase the turnover rate of each mill in the processing line, while simultaneously fitting more plant material into the extractor column. Furthermore, the instruments’ stainless-steel surfaces are designed to minimize heat and stickiness while remaining easy to clean between each batch.
These performance enhancements combine to deliver significant time savings and operational cost reduction — ensuring greater batch consistency, as well as batch-to-batch reproducibility. At the same time, FRITSCH’s instruments help improve extraction yield and quality, regardless of whether the processor chooses to grind plant material coarsely or finely.
All these benefits make the consistency of the final product easy to validate. This tight degree of control helps collectives optimize the efficiency of each extraction, and maximize the calibre of every product that emerges from their processing pipelines.

The company’s engineers regularly share their practical know-how in professional seminars and hands-on workshops, demonstrating exactly how each instrument functions, and answering questions as needed. Furthermore, FRITSCH offers ongoing after-sales service and support, including a supply guarantee for a wide variety of common spare parts.
In fact, “Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (SSI), Fritsch Milling & Sizing, and six other companies have been traveling around the US for the past three years, offering free local training for to anyone interested in working in the hemp or cannabis industry,” says SSI’s General Manager, Dr. Bob Clifford. “The seminar includes grinding the biomass through sample preparation to analytical results and big data analysis with LIMS/LIS systems. Class size is limited to 50-75 people depending on the venue. If you would like a local seminar in your area please contact FRITSCH.