It’s a little over 12 months since Scottish agritech firm Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) announced a new strategic partnership agreement with Long Island-based CubicAcres. This week CubicAcres has completed a US$3.7 million funding round that will enable the firms to progress with the construction of a new 11,000 square foot production facility.
Last year IGS stated that construction of the farm would begin on the Long Island site towards the end of 2022 with the farm ‘fully operational by early 2023’. Clearly those target dates weren’t able to be realised but the new plan sees possible production levels revised upwards from 2.5 million heads of lettuce to 3 million annually. Originally IGS had been appointed to deploy eight of its 30-foot-high Growth Tower structures on the Long Island site. 3 million heads of lettuce would be a tenfold expansion in production capacity by CubicAcres.
Steve Gereb, Head of North American Operations for IGS, offered his insights into the transformative partnership: “Working with Ryan and CubicAcres has been a significant step on our path to bringing IGS to the North American market and we are delighted to see the business’ continued success. Since launching our US headquarters in November last year, we have grown our team to 15 deployment and operational experts in the region, supported by our more than 200-strong global team. We are excited to work with forward-thinking partners like Cubic Acres as we continue to deliver best-in-class technology to customers across the world, enabling them to reliably grow the highest quality produce 365 days a year.”
Echoing Gereb’s enthusiasm, Ryan McGann, CEO of CubicAcres, remarked, “Our partnership with IGS will bring cutting-edge vertical farming technology to Long Island, to meet the insatiable demands we have experienced in the LI and NYC markets for high-quality produce year-round.” McGann further noted, “Long Island has a unique, robust agricultural ecosystem. By situating our vertical farm within the heart of its agricultural districts, we aim to demonstrate an effective blend of vertical and traditional farming methodologies.”
