Ultimation is targeting the new and growing market of vertical farming sector with its conveyor systems, technology it has been supplying for more than 30 years.
The company says that sustainable agricultural operations such as vertical and indoor farms are becoming more prevalent, and “conveyor technology systems can be part of the solution”.
Ultimation says vertical farms can potentially achieve higher yields for the surface area dedicated to production by controlling the light, temperature, humidity, water and nutrients the plants receive.
They can also reduce “food miles”, which is the distance that food items travel from the point of production to the table, and can reduce CO2 emission from transport while delivering fresher and better-tasting products.
Jacqueline Canny, CEO of Ultimation Industries, says: “Conveyors are essential to vertical farming because they can make use of all the available vertical space of a facility and can move plants through automated systems as they grow.”
She adds that robots, as well as overhead conveyors, floor conveyors and specialized plant material handling equipment, can increase efficiency in planting and harvesting operations.
Ultimation has already completed a major system for a west coast based vertical farming system, which is believed to be the world’s largest scale facility. The technology used in that project is proprietary and several customized projects with other customers are in progress.
Conveyors and industrial automation equipment used in vertical farming includes many of the traditional conveyor types such as gravity roller, belt, and skate wheel or flow rail conveyors.
These conveyors are among the most versatile because they help reduce the manual labor of carrying items by hand.
More recently, the technology used in larger vertical farming systems is including motorized and overhead conveyors.
These systems take advantage of unused vertical space above a working area and bring plants down to an operator level when needed.
Power and Free conveyors are the ultimate in space and volume optimization for vertical farming systems as they enable tight concentration of product in some areas while also enabling separation of the products for movement to processing areas.
Ultimation supplies vertical farming companies with conveyors and equipment ranging from small gravity and belt conveyors from their “quick ship” product range to major overhead power and free conveyor systems to support commercial-scale production. Their systems meet food-safe requirements for lubricants, oils and greases.
Canny says: “As indoor farmers work to achieve greater efficiencies in food production, conveyor systems technology is likely to be part of any economically viable solution.
“We see the vertical and indoor farming space as a major new segment for material handling systems, and we’re pleased to be taking a leading position in this category.”
