Two Colorado-based AgTech companies have combined their respective technologies into a retractable LED lighting system designed to solve a persistent labor problem in high-density vertical farms: the need to work at height to access crops when lights and structures occupy the growing space.
The SLIM Lift System, a collaboration between Whit Allen, CEO of Denver-based SpectraGrow, and Rick Langille, CEO of Broomfield-based Harvest Today, made its public debut at Indoor Ag-Con in Las Vegas in March 2026, where the companies also announced commercial availability. Early adopter installations were already in place in Malaysia and Colorado before the launch.
The system uses SGL-SLIM linear LED bars mounted on a motorized lift mechanism that retracts to the ceiling at the push of a button, clearing the growing area for planting, harvesting, and maintenance. When operations are complete, the system returns the lights to their precise original position.
© Arlette Sijmonsma | VerticalFarmDaily.com
Whit Allen shows the SLIM Lift System at Indoor Ag-Con 2026
Sailboat lines and window shades
The lift mechanism draws on two established industries. Langille is a sailor and previously ran ESI, a manufacturer of motorized window coverings.
"Combining both line management, just like lines on a sailboat, and a rolling tube equipped with a tubular motor just like the ones used in the window coverings industry, the SLIM Lift System combines these parts to create an efficient use of space," says Langille. The system uses all-alloy materials and IP65-rated electrical components. Control is via a wall switch or wireless handheld remote, operating single units or multiple lifts simultaneously.
The design targets a specific frustration familiar to vertical farm operators. "Imagine working in a conventional vertical farm where you are on a scissor lift and having to lean over and lift, over and over to farm a crop, not to mention the visual inspection of a crop," says Allen. "This is just a practical solution to what we know is a big pain point in many vertical farms."
Whit Allen demonstrating how the SLIM Lift System works in the Harvest Today installation
Volumetric density
The companies are reframing how growing capacity is measured, shifting the conversation from plants per square foot of floor space to plants per cubic metre of available volume. The SLIM Lift System enables up to 200 plants per cubic metre, according to Allen, roughly twice the plant density achievable with the same crop type in a traditional horizontal multi-tier setup.
The system is built around a set of requirements Allen describes as central to the product. Photon uniformity across the vertical plane is non-negotiable, with no lighting hot or cold spots permitted anywhere in the farm. The system must also be flexible enough to hit different PPFD targets and spectrum recipes depending on the crop, scale easily to match different grow system configurations, and facilitate high-density farm layouts without impeding daily operations. Harvest Today's lift mechanism uses a 2.5-inch tube accommodating a range of motor sizes, because a configuration lifting 20 light bars requires a larger motor than one raising five.
The minimum ceiling clearance required depends on the number of light bars needed for a given application. In the Indoor Ag-Con demonstration, five bars were used to hit the PPFD target for leafy greens, requiring 16 inches of clearance between the ceiling and the top of the growing system.
© SpectraGrow
The SLIM Lift System, in position (left) and retracted (right)
Four years in development
The collaboration between SpectraGrow and Harvest Today began four years ago. "The initial conversation began as an exploratory discussion over LinkedIn between two like-minded CEOs in the AgTech space who both happened to be based in the greater Denver area," says Allen.
The first phase focused on developing a modular LED system that matched the scalability of the Harvest Wall, which grows by width, height, single or double-sided configuration, and quantity. The SLIM Lift System followed from attempts to apply that LED system in space-constrained environments.
"The driving force aligning the two companies has always been the shared belief that collaboration is not only powerful, but necessary, if we are to collectively solve the issues of our global food system," says Allen. "No one company can do it all, yet so many of the end users need fully integrated solutions that are both simple and accessible."
Retrofit and new build
The system is available for both new facilities and retrofits. SpectraGrow has already sent proposals for container farm retrofits where existing lights are approaching end of life. Compatibility extends beyond the Harvest Wall to any vertical growing system requiring uniform photon distribution on the vertical plane, including aeroponic tower systems.
"We are interested in speaking with both manufacturers of vertical grow systems and also with farmers using them to find other value-added applications of this approach."
For more information:
SpectraGrow
Whit Allen, CEO
[email protected]
www.spectragrow.com
Harvest Today 
Rick Langille, CEO
[email protected]
www.harvest.today
