Taking Indoor Farming Operations To New Heights

Conveyor Systems Technology From Ultimation Industries

Conveyor systems technology can help indoor farming operations grow to new heights while improving productivity, efficiency and ergonomics, according to Ultimation Industries LLC, a leader in conveyor technology and automation for over 30 years.

“Harnessing unused vertical space through the use of motorized and overhead conveyors helps indoor farmers maximize their footprint while achieving greater efficiencies in food production and improved ergonomics,” said Richard Canny, president of Ultimation Industries.

Customized and automated 
Ultimation is a provider of customized conveyor and automation solutions for indoor agriculture. They design and build systems for vertical farms of all sizes, including a major system for a West Coast-based vertical farming system which is among the world’s largest.

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In a typical indoor agriculture facility, workers move through the growing area to plant, monitor and harvest crops. Multi-tier operations may use time-consuming and potentially dangerous lifts to take employees up and down as they perform their daily tasks. Conveyor technology can move plants through automated systems as they grow, bringing them down to the operator level when needed for more efficient, and ergonomically friendly, handling.

Multiple choice
The conveyors and industrial automation equipment used in vertical farming include 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.

Larger systems use vertical elevators or Power and Free conveyors. 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.

Reducing costs 
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.  

“Using robotics and conveyors has been shown to help vertical farms maximize their growing operations and reduce costs. We believe that indoor farming systems are best optimized through a balanced use of low-cost material handling systems for slow-growing areas. They are complemented by more sophisticated conveyors and other devices for faster moving material handling tasks,” said Canny.

Ultimation’s indoor agriculture solutions range from simple flow rail systems up to more comprehensive systems for larger indoor vertical farming facilities. The company's systems meet food-safe requirements for lubricants, oils, and greases.

“As indoor farmers work to achieve greater efficiencies in food production, conveyor systems technology is likely to be part of any economically viable and scalable solution,” said Canny. 

For more information:
Kali Cresent, Sales, and Marketing Manager
Ultimation Industries, LLC
kcresent@ultimation.net
+1 586-771-1881 
www.ultimation.net 
 

9 Apr 2021

Can Conveyors Improve Yield For Vertical Farming Systems?

Vertical farms or indoor farms have the potential to achieve great efficiency in food production, promising less use of water and delivering fresh food produced efficiently from nearby geographic locations. However challenges remain – and conveyors and better vertical farming technology will likely be part of any economically viable solution. This is what the conveyor technologies company Ultimation is looking to provide to the sector.

Conveyors are sometimes used in indoor farming to optimize the density of the plants as they grow and to move the plants through automated systems to reduce labor in planting and harvesting. High efficiency LED lights have greatly enabled more efficient vertical farming technology. However replicating the efficiency of the sun remains a major challenge that indoor farming companies hope to achieve through improved control of all other plant growth variables.

Automation for vertical indoor farms
Conveyors and industrial automation equipment used in vertical farming automation systems can include many of the traditional conveyor types such as gravity roller conveyors, belt conveyors and skate wheel or flow rail conveyors. But more recently the technology used in larger systems is including motorized conveyor systems and overhead conveyors. 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 then enabling separation of the products as and when required for movement to processing areas.

Ultra high-density vertical farming systems aim to optimize plant production relative to the productive space employed for the task. Conveyors are essential in that optimization process to use all the available vertical space of a facility. Vertical farming automation can enable spacing to change as plants grow throughout a facility. Technology used can include robots as well as overhead conveyors, floor conveyors and specialized plant processing equipment.

According to Ultimation food safe materials and lubricants are used for all of their vertical farming conveyor systems. Vertical farms can help reduce “food miles” which is the distance that food items travel from the point of production to the table. High volume indoor farms located near to major consumption areas have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions from transport as well as deliver fresher and better tasting products.

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For more information:
Ultimation Industries
15935 Sturgeon St.
Roseville, Michigan 48066-1818, USA 
Tel: +1 (586) 771-1881
info@ultimation.net 
www.ultimationinc.com

Publication date: 7/17/2019

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