"We're eager to showcase what we've been working on and share our latest developments and innovations. We continue to develop and refine our products to help cultivators positively affect canopy output while saving time and money by creating a more efficient facility and streamlining operations," says Del Rockwell, Product Manager at Pipp Horticulture. The company is looking forward to showcasing its solutions at this year's Indoor Ag-Con, in Las Vegas on March 11-12.
While the company has a lot of experience in the cannabis market, the vertical farming market is certainly distinct. "We've been able to leverage virtually all our past 7 years of product development and experience from the cannabis industry into solutions for the vertical farming space. Of course, the unparalleled team we have brought together also plays an essential role. Our goal as a supplier is the same as it has always been: to not only provide the best value in product, but to also set our customers up for long-term success and build partnerships with cultivators regardless of the crop," he says.
The Pipp Horticulture team at Indoor Ag-Con 2023
Addressing market developments
According to Del, the company looks forward to helping growers, especially when looking at the market developments. The vertical farming market is seeing a trend of business models pivoting to top notch efficiency and low-cost. "We try to tackle this on multiple fronts. First, we are constantly evaluating product offering to offer better solutions to common tasks. We also find it important to share our knowledge and experience of best practices for facility design to avoid common pitfalls and labor traps. Furthermore, we're building and sharing a network of partner vendors and consultants that help us offer a holistic approach to facility design and development."
The cannabis industry has seen major economic trends and specific pressures these past years. "Cultivators are frequently merging and consolidating, which offers us opportunities to reassess and standardize best practices. As these partnerships mature, we're discovering the combined value we can provide to growers and consumers alike."
Last year, Pipp harnessed the synergy created by these mergers and consolidations. "We've had the opportunity to acquire the assets of Grow Glide, combining two leading suppliers of multi-level mobile cultivation racking in the cannabis industry. This was no small feat, especially considering the high level of competition we both maintained in the industry over the past several years. It's truly a dream scenario, as we can take the best elements from each company's product line and culture, blend them together, and deliver something greater than the sum of its parts. Look forward to new and upgraded solutions in the coming year. We have exciting plans for the future."
New offerings
At this year's Indoor Ag-Con, Pipp Horticulture is set to showcase its offerings to better serve growers. "We recently launched the next generation of our In-Rack Air Circulation System, VAS 2.0. We've diligently collected feedback on the original system and made significant improvements and enhancements. Our goals were pretty straightforward, but I would not say 'easy'. The objective was to significantly improve performance while simultaneously reducing material costs. Our newly assembled team employed a quantitative, science-based approach, using CFD and Design of Experiments to iterate quickly and validate our improvements. As a result, we were able to nearly double the recorded airflow, reduce material and installation costs, and enhance the system's serviceability and cleanability. You might need to turn our fans down!" Del explains.
Pipp is also excited to showcase a variety of additional products and accessories, including:
- Elevate Platform Outside Aisle solution: "This solution allows the use of Pipp's Elevate Platform system throughout the entire room without requiring significant layout changes for existing rooms."
- Modular Upright design: "Our modular uprights provide various direct and indirect advantages to our customers. The adjustable system eliminates interference points between our racking and other systems, such as airflow and irrigation, while significantly improving shipping and logistical efficiencies."
- Recessed Bearing carriage construction: "A minor visual change to our foundational carriage that yields improvements in system performance, cleanability, serviceability, and corrosion resistance, all of which play a significant role in GMP compliance."
- GGS Hybrid Rolling Bench: "This product combines the best aspects of GGS's tried-and-true rolling bench frame with continuous tray technology with the full range of mobility and rolling performance of the Pipp Carriage system into the ideal solution for single-level systems."
Interested in learning more? The Pipp Horticulture team will be at Indoor Ag-Con (March 11-12) at booth #704.
For more information:
Pipp Horticulture
info@pipphorticulture.com
www.pipphorticulture.com