BREAKING NEWS: Crop One Holdings And Sananbio Announce Strategic Partnership To Jointly Develop Vertical Farms
August 20, 2019
OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Crop One Holdings (Crop One), a leading global vertical farm operator, and Sino-Science North America Photobiotech (SNAP), one of the largest vertical farm technology providers in the world, have formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop future vertical farm projects. SNAP is the owner of SANANBIO®, affiliated and supported by the largest producer of top-quality, ultra-high bright LED wafers and chips.
For future projects developed jointly, Crop One will lead project development and plant operations, contributing its best-in-class plant science and controls technology, and SNAP will provide LED lighting and its proprietary modular growing systems and next-generation, fully automated vertical farm system, UPLIFTTM (Unmanned Platform of Lean & Intelligent Farming Technology). Crop One will license its plant science and controls technology to projects and both parties will contribute technology, equipment, know-how and financing.
Sonia Lo, Crop One’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are thrilled to collaborate with SNAP in developing our combined pipeline of vertical farming projects. This partnership is a validation of our company and strategy, and significantly expands both Crop One and SNAP’s breadth and reach in the vertical farming sector while leveraging our respective strengths. We are long time, happy users of SNAP’s LED lights and believe its growing suite of best-in-breed hardware solutions is the perfect complement to our software, controls and plant science technology. Importantly, we share the same approach to pursuing an asset-light model to building vertical farms that is focused on scale, cost and energy efficiency.
“Successful vertical farms require a broad array of expertise and capabilities to operate efficiently and effectively, and we expect strategic partnerships between market participants with best-in-class complementary resources will become an increasingly important way for the leaders in the space to accelerate growth. Most vertical farm assets are owned by infrastructure investors, and technology companies such as Crop One and SNAP are enabling those owners to achieve the best return on their assets without the burden of technology development and management.”
Michael Yates, Sananbio U.S.’s Vice President of Technology Sales, added, “On a combined basis, we believe Crop One and SNAP’s pipeline in vertical farms is the largest in North America, with the potential to serve a full range from large wholesale to specialty retail customers across the continent with mega-farms capable of producing three or more tons of crops per day. As a proven leader in the vertical farming sector, Crop One is the ideal partner for us. They have a demonstrated track record of success in operating vertical farms at scale. The company’s partnership with Emirates Flight Catering to build the world’s largest vertical farm underscores the success of Crop One’s model and plant science technology, which address the most critical issue in vertical farming – optimizing plant growth with higher yields, at lower costs.
“Our LED products and growing systems are backed by many years of research in plant physiology and semiconductors and supported by a team of professionals with deep expertise in manufacturing, quality control, and sales and marketing. In combination, Crop One and SNAP will be able to provide a complete suite of solutions, from growing systems and technologies to crop development and production, which we believe is a significant competitive advantage. We are very excited about this strategic partnership with Crop One and look forward to starting our first project soon.”
About Crop One Holdings
California-based Crop One Holdings is a vertical farming technology company that enables fresh produce to be grown in a sustainable manner for its customers. It operates two subsidiaries: FreshBox Farms in Millis, Mass., and a joint venture with Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai South, United Arab Emirates. Crop One has been in continuous commercial production longer than any other vertical farmer in North America. The company’s proprietary technology and plant science put it ahead of its competitors, producing crop yields among the highest of the industry, but at 25% to 50% of the capital cost of other vertical farming companies. To learn more, visit https://cropone.ag/.
About Sino-science North America Photobiotech Inc.
SANANBIO® is a trademark carried and backed by Sanan Sino-Science Photobiotech, a company invested by Sanan Optoelectronics, one of the world’s largest LED chip manufacturers. Supported by an elite R&D team comprised of plant scientists, researchers and engineers, Sananbio utilizes state-of-the-art technology that enables growers worldwide in the horticulture industry to increase the quality and quantity of their yields. Years of extensive research and real-world deployment and operations allow Sananbio to offer its customers proven, scalable, efficient and cost-effective solutions in LED horticulture lighting and Controlled Environment Agriculture vertical farming grow systems. Sananbio empowers growers with the technology and knowledge to achieve unprecedented results in farming operations. To learn more visit: http://sananbious.com/.