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Agriculture, Industrial And Consumer Equipment Sales Veteran Dan Schmidt Joins CubicFarms As Senior Vice President of Global Sales
In Dan’s new role, he is responsible for growing and leading the Company’s global sales strategy as it enters its next phase of rapid growth
VANCOUVER, BC, OCTOBER 8, 2020 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV:CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Schmidt as Senior Vice President of Global Sales, effective immediately.
In Dan’s new role, he is responsible for growing and leading the Company’s global sales strategy as it enters its next phase of rapid growth.
Dan has spent more than 20 years forging a successful, proven track record for building commercial brands with some of the largest heavy agricultural equipment manufacturers in the world.
He has been responsible for establishing and growing independent dealer-partner channel relationships for multi-national organizations, including John Deere, JCB, and Stanley Infrastructure, while mentoring, developing, and advancing the teams that work with him.
Prior to joining CubicFarms, he served as Vice President of Sales at Stanley Infrastructure, a division of Stanley Black & Decker – a manufacturer of hydraulic attachment tools – and led the integration of five independent sales organizations into one division comprising 180 sales staff and approximately US$500 million in annual revenue.
As JCB Americas’ former Vice President of North American Sales, Dan was responsible for recruiting and leading 120 JCB Americas dealers and sales staff to achieve US$650 million in annual revenue. He also held various senior roles within JCB, including Vice President of North American Agriculture – where he led the development of an independent agriculture dealer network of 120 dealers for revenue diversification, as well as Sales Director for Eastern Europe – where he built brand awareness for JCB’s heavy equipment line in 15 Eastern European countries.
At John Deere, a world-leading manufacturer synonymous with the farm tractor, he served in manager-level sales and marketing roles, implementing the southern U.S. division’s annual marketing and sales plans through multiple distribution outlets, combination dealerships, independent dealerships and mass channel partners. He also led a cross-divisional channel sales team that generated over US$500 million in annual consumer revenue.
Dan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Political Science and Business Communications from the University of Kansas, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business.
CubicFarms CEO Dave Dinesen commented: “After an exhaustive search for a proven sales leader, Dan emerged as the right candidate to help propel our business onto the global stage. He deeply understands our customers’ operational and financial objectives and has the experience to educate and partner with them to ensure overall satisfaction and longevity with CubicFarms. His expertise in developing relationships with global distributors and dealers, and coaching in-house sales teams, will be a huge asset to our company. I’m excited to work with Dan and extend him a warm welcome to our executive team.”
Dan Schmidt, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, commented: “Having worked in agricultural equipment manufacturing and distribution sales for the last few decades, I have witnessed the agriculture industry’s evolution of new farming techniques and the adaptation of technology to help manage the fields. I’ve always kept my eye on emerging concepts such as vertical farming, which could alter the future of how and where we get our fresh food.
“When I discovered the innovation built into CubicFarms’ proprietary systems, I knew I wanted to be part of the bold idea that agriculture could take place anywhere without being at the mercy of Mother Nature. I believe that CubicFarms really could be the next technological evolution of the tractor!”
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor it’s Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
About CubicFarm® Systems Corp.
CubicFarm Systems Corp. (“CubicFarms”) is a technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary technologies enable growers around the world to produce high quality, predictable crop yields. CubicFarms has two distinct technologies that address two distinct markets. The first technology is its CubicFarms™ system, which contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops indoors, all year round. Using its unique, undulating-path growing system, the Company addresses the main challenges within the indoor farming industry by significantly reducing the need for physical labor and energy, and maximizing yield per cubic foot. CubicFarms leverages its patented technology by operating its own R&D facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, selling the system to growers, licensing its technology, and providing vertical farming expertise to its customers.
The second technology is CubicFarms’ HydroGreen system for growing nutritious livestock feed. This system utilizes a unique process to sprout grains, such as barley and wheat, in a controlled environment with minimal use of land, labor, and water. The HydroGreen system is fully automated and performs all growing functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding – all with the push of a button – to deliver nutritious livestock feed without the typical investment in fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, field equipment, and transportation. The HydroGreen system not only provides superior nutritious feed to benefit the animal but also enables significant environmental benefits to the farm.
Information contact:
Kimberly Lim
VP, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Mobile: 236.858.6491
Office: 1.888.280.9076
Email: kimberly@cubicfarms.com
Smart Acres CEO On The Latest Addition To The Hydroponic Vertical Farming Industry In Abu Dhabi
The launch of Smart Acres, the UAE’s latest addition to the hydroponic vertical farming industry, this week means that a line of the freshest, most nutrient-dense greens for UAE residents and businesses alike is now being produced in containers on the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi, with the aim to expand across the UAE
Smart Acres is here with lettuce at the helm. In an exclusive interview with Abu Dhabi World, Smart Acres CEO Abdulla al Kaabi reveals what this means to Abu Dhabi and the farming community on the whole.
If you love healthy produce, and who doesn’t, then this news is going to please you and your tastebuds no end. The only drawback at the moment is they’re not for sale in supermarkets just yet, but it won’t be long before they are.
The launch of Smart Acres, the UAE’s latest addition to the hydroponic vertical farming industry, this week means that a line of the freshest, most nutrient-dense greens for UAE residents and businesses alike is now being produced in containers on the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi, with the aim to expand across the UAE.
So we headed over to the St. Regis Abu Dhabi to meet Smart Acres CEO Abdulla al Kaabi to find out more.
Tell us about your background?
I am from a tech and farm background. My father has a passion for farming and gardening; he’s very strict about anybody who messes around with his garden or farm. My father has a few farms across the UAE, where he grows crops and dates. When he heard that I was pursuing a project in the agriculture sector he got excited and actually gifted me a farm, which I am grateful for and will keep. However, Smart Acres, rather than the farm my father gifted me, is an urban farm.
How was Smart Acres first developed?
CEO Abdulla al Kaabi (centre)
Smart Acres was founded in 2017 and local testing began in July 2019. Smart Acres was developed by a team of experts, including myself, Director Sean Lee, and Lead Project Manager, Aphisith Phongsavanh with the aim of improving food security within the United Arab Emirates and developing the country’s farming capabilities, providing a solution to potential socioeconomic threats such as pandemics and climate limitations the Middle East currently endures.
Tell us more
We planted lettuce and after a few harvests, we decided to expand from two containers to eight containers. From the two insulated containers, the yield was 3.5 tons annually, which was our proof of concept. For the proof of concept, our target weight for each lettuce head was 140g. However, we have reached an average of 200g per head. I don’t think any other vertical farm here reached that quality or weight in terms of vegetables at this size.
How would you describe Smart Acres?
It is a one-of-a-kind agriculture system that is designed to produce some of the highest yields of crops within the UAE’s vertical farming industry while introducing a new future for clean foods and allowing both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C ) sectors to locally sourced produce.
Tell us about the containers
We invested heavily in the containers, not just financially, and it took us a while to partner up with n.thing, a South Korean vertical farming technology company, to bring the best vertical farm here in the UAE. We had talks with other companies before and we decided to go with this one, in terms of risk, in terms of technology they are using. And the system we are using in the containers is hydroponics (growing plants without soil) which has been used by growers for hundreds of years.
Techno advancements mean we were able to implement the Internet of Things for operations, which helps us to monitor the entire farm in terms of humidity, temperature, and even the nutrients that go inside the plants. Now we have our expansion plan from eight to 78 containers, which eventually will produce more than 140 tons of produce annually. We are currently in talks with private and public entities in terms of the expansion. We are also planning to have a research and development center in order to start growing our own potato seeds in a controlled environment.
Will Smart Acres just be growing lettuce?
In our current eight containers, we grow four types of lettuce; Lolo rosso , green glace, oakleaf Batavia, but we are able to grow 30 types of lettuce. Currently, we are testing new methods to improve the quality and weight of the existing lettuce. The results of last month’s test resulted in lettuce whose individual heads weighed more than 200 grams on average. However, we aim to grow more than just lettuce. We have plans to eventually grow baby spinach, mature spinach, and baby arugula. Smart Acres’ vision is to expand to meet the demand of popular produce in the region such as strawberries, and, as I previously mentioned, a shift and emphasis on cultivating potato seeds.
Where can we buy your smart lettuces?
We are now supplying restaurants and hotels for free to get ourselves known, and we have had great feedback from them. We have also partnered with several restaurants and cafes around the country including Inked and Fae Cafe, and have plans to have our produce in the kitchen of dozens of other F&B outlets. The recent initiative by HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), stating that all major grocery stores in the capital must allocate space for local produce mean we are perfectly poised to enter local supermarkets. We have had lots of offers from Abu Dhabi Holding and other government entities that are members in the food security committee to buy our whole produce. Currently, we are focused on our actual produce itself, in terms of quality, weight.
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Posted in Features, Food, Life, News
Tagged agriculture system Abu Dhabi, CEO Abdulla al Kaabi, Clean foods UAE, food security UAE, SMART ACRES Abu Dhabi, st regis abu dhabi, UAE Climate Change Risks and Resilience, UAE farms, UAE’s vertical farming industry, vertical farming Abu Dhabi