While tuning into television coverage of the 2018 international beach volleyball tournament held in Shepparton, Mr Huppert became intrigued after hearing a speech from City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Kim O'Keeffe.
"I saw Kim on the TV inviting businesses to come up and get in touch, so the next day a friend made the introduction and we asked if we could come out," he said.
"We were looking in the area already and I think that’s how we made the connection almost immediately."
Within a week or two, the Cannatrek chief executive officer had visited the region and had made some positive connections with business leaders.
With the planning process now complete, Mr Huppert returned to the region yesterday, discussing the next phase and the other important factors to ensure the $160 million facility's future success.
Committee for Greater Shepparton deputy chair Leigh Findlay and chief executive officer Sam Birrell described the circumstances around attracting Cannatrek to the region as "unique".
"Anyone that’s in sales or marketing will know that putting your brand out there in a positive way is the way to go, and that’s what Shepparton has been trying to do for the last six to seven years," Mr Birrell said.
"When a new, exciting opportunity comes to town we want to make sure we can pull the leadership together to give the support to that project."
During yesterday's conversations, Mr Findlay said the Committee for Greater Shepparton discussed employment opportunities and the importance of "getting a skilled workforce up and running."
"We talked about the GROW program and how that could help in setting up Cannatrek."
Co-ordinated by C4GS, the GROW program aims to help promote local procurement and sustainable employment within the region.
Mr Huppert said meeting with community leaders was a positive step forward.
"To meet the community leaders and to see how they can assist us when the site is commissioned is very comforting from a commercial point of view," he said.
Mr Huppert said the facility was a "scaled project" with 80 staff members needed of varying skills during the first phase.
"It is a multi-skilled project both inside and outside the greenhouse," he said.
Working in partnership with La Trobe University, Mr Huppert said the university's Shepparton campus was a factor when choosing the location.
"We’ll have a cannabis research licence so we’ll be able to practically integrate with course work as the industry develops," he said.
Ms O'Keeffe was delighted to meet with the C4GS members and Mr Huppert to show strong support for the project.
"This is a very exciting time for our region because this is a huge investment," she said.
"We are very determined to support anyone that shows interest in our region to make any venture a great success."
Mr Huppert praised the full support shown by council.
"We were thrilled by that support from day one and that gave us the confidence to really push the project," he said.
Currently working on the next step of the process, Mr Huppert said Cannatrek had already begun sharing information with the local health industry.
Mr Birrell encouraged the community to learn more about the industry as the project unfolded.
"This is an exciting industry and it's probably incumbent on us all in Greater Shepparton to really research it and see what’s out there," he said.
“I think if we understand it as an industry, we can advocate for it and then it can perhaps become de-stigmatised.”
Cannatrek hopes to begin construction later this year, with production to commence by the end of 2020.