By Mark Ambrogi, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 21, 2022 /Current/ –

3C Labs Chief Executive Officer Justin Journay’s business has grown rapidly

The company, a cannabinoid research and manufacturing firm, started in 2018 in the Cleveland area.

“We moved operations to Indiana in September of 2019,” said Journay, a 39-year-old Fishers resident. “It grew to a point where we needed help, and Indiana had the best laws at the time. (Indiana legislators) were the innovator of the CBD laws. They were the first ones to come out and say how to do CBD correctly and abide by the laws. We loved that, so we came here.”

The three primary sites are in Carmel, Fishers and north Indianapolis. With 3C Labs’ plans to invest at least $1.5 million in expansion at the three sites and hire as many as 270 employees by the end of 2023, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has pledged up to $2.97 million in tax credits.

Under the brand name 3Chi, the company sells a variety of edibles such as gummies, candies and baked goods, vaping items and oils, tinctures and terpenes.

“We’re one of if not the biggest hemp company in America as far as selling products,” Journay said. “We just completed a NASCAR deal. We became the first sponsor of a NASCAR team. We’ve been able to succeed here in Indiana and everyone has been very supportive of that. We are going to keep doing what we do, making products and selling products. To do that, we need a lot of employees.”

The products are sold nationally and internationally.

Journay said the company needs employees in manufacturing and shipping.

“We also do a lot of (research and development) in production, and that ends up being a lot of engineers, chemists, research individuals, so there are a lot of STEM careers we are responsible in starting or continuing,” he said. “It’s very possible we exceed the 270 number. The thing about hemp is, it’s pretty reliant on legislation, and that seems to be ever-changing in this industry.”

The company also will hire in sales and customer service employees.

3C already has approximately 350 employees, mostly in the Indianapolis area. Journay said the company will add at least one more site in the future, somewhere in northern Indianapolis or the Hamilton County area.

“The name comes from the three parts of Chi, what we feel cannabis can help people with mind, body and spirit,” he said.

This article first appeared on Current in Carmel.