Pipp Horticulture

MJBizCon 2023: New Products, Swag, & More!

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MJBizCon 2023: New Products, Swag, & More!

Pipp Horticulture

Prepare to Be Blown Away!

Pipp Horticulture unveils new offerings at this year’s MJBizCon

“The objective was to significantly improve performance while simultaneously reducing material costs”

“We’re eager to showcase what we’ve been working on and share our latest developments and innovations. We continue to develop and refine our products to help cultivators positively affect canopy output while saving time and money by creating a more efficient facility and streamlining operations,” says Del Rockwell, Product Manager at Pipp Horticulture. The company is looking forward to unveiling several new offerings at this year’s MJBizCon. “MJBizCon is always one of the most anticipated events of the year, and this year is no exception. Pipp Horticulture is currently in full preparation mode as we gear up for the show, which is just a few weeks away,” Del says.

According to Del, the show provides the ideal platform for introducing new products, developments, and concepts. “As the Product Manager for Pipp Horticulture, this is my favorite aspect of the show,” he says. “I enjoy witnessing all the new innovations and, most importantly, having the opportunity to debut some of our innovations. This show’s platform allows us to receive immediate feedback on our ideas and concepts while also giving us insight into the developments of others in the industry. To me, it’s like a corporate-level Show ‘n Tell, and I personally love it.”

Pipp Horticulture Team

Mergers and Consolidations

According to Del, this year holds a unique significance due to broader economic trends and specific pressures within the cannabis market. “Cultivators are frequently merging and consolidating, which offers us opportunities to reassess and standardize best practices. As these partnerships mature, we’re discovering the combined value we can provide to growers and consumers alike.”

Over the past eight months, Pipp has harnessed the synergy created by these mergers and consolidations. “We’ve had the opportunity to acquire the assets of Grow Glide, combining two leading suppliers of multi-level mobile cultivation racking in the cannabis industry. This was no small feat, especially considering the high level of competition we both maintained in the industry over the past several years. It’s truly a dream scenario, as we can take the best elements from each company’s product line and culture, blend them together, and deliver something greater than the sum of its parts. Look forward to new and upgraded solutions in the coming year. We have exciting plans for the future!”

New Offerings

This year, there is much to anticipate, Del says. Pipp Horticulture is set to unveil several new offerings to better serve the commercial cannabis cultivation industry. “The most significant launch is the next generation of our In-Rack Air Circulation System, VAS 2.0, which we’ll debut at MJBizCon 2023 booth #33019. Over the past year, we’ve diligently collected feedback on the original system and made significant improvements and enhancements. Our goals were pretty straightforward, but I would not say ‘easy’. The objective was to significantly improve performance while simultaneously reducing material costs. Our newly assembled team employed a quantitative, science-based approach, using CFD and Design of Experiments to iterate quickly and validate our improvements. As a result, we were able to nearly double the recorded airflow, reduce material and installation costs, and enhance the system’s serviceability and cleanability. You might need to turn our fans down!” Del explains.

Pipp is also excited to showcase a variety of additional products and accessories, including:

  • ELEVATE® Platform Outside Aisle Solution: “This solution allows the use of Pipp’s ELEVATE® Platform System throughout the entire room without requiring significant layout changes for existing rooms.”
  • Modular Upright Design: “Introduced last year and now ready for launch and production, our modular uprights provide various direct and indirect advantages to our customers. The adjustable system eliminates interference points between our racking and other systems, such as airflow and irrigation, while significantly improving shipping and logistical efficiencies.”
  • Recessed Bearing Carriage Construction: “A minor visual change to our foundational carriage that yields improvements in system performance, cleanability, serviceability, and corrosion resistance, all of which play a significant role in GMP compliance.”
  • GGS Hybrid Rolling Bench: “Debuted last year as a prototype but now in full production, we’ve continued to refine the system over the past year. This product combines the best aspects of GGS’s tried-and-true rolling bench frame with continuous tray technology with the full range of mobility and rolling performance of the Pipp Carriage system into the ideal solution for single-level systems.”
  • Dispensary Storage Booth #7418: “We will be showcasing our Dispensary Mobile Shelving System in a dedicated space in the Retail Pavilion. These systems are installed in the stockrooms of hundreds of the top retailers worldwide. Our retail dispensary storage systems are designed to store your inventory safely and efficiently without sacrificing crucial floor space. Visit our retail booth #7418 to see these systems in action.”

MJBizCon 2023 is shaping up to be an exciting event for the Pipp Horticulture Team. The company is eager to share their latest developments and innovations with you at booths #33019 and #7418. “The stage is set, and there’s plenty of room for growth. See you at the show!”

*This article was featured on MMJ Daily, click here to view full article.

ELEVATE® Outside Aisle System
VAS Air Circulation System
VAS Air Circulation System

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Multi-Tier Grow Room Design: Measure Once, Build Twice Webinar with Cannabis Business Times

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Multi-Tier Grow Room Design: Measure Once, Build Twice Webinar with Cannabis Business Times

Pipp Horticulture at Culta in Maryland

Designing a Successful Multi-tier Grow Room 

Designing a successful multi-tier indoor cannabis grow room requires careful planning and execution to ensure optimal plant growth and yield. Whether you are a seasoned grower or a beginner, there are several key factors to consider when designing your indoor grow space. Michael Williamson, Director of Cultivation, Anders Peterson, Cannabis Operations Specialist, and Del Rockwell, Product Manager, recently presented a webinar with Cannabis Business Times sharing helpful insights and best practices for designing a successful multi-tier indoor cannabis grow room. During this webinar, the team provided key insights into critical design criteria for consideration before you design and operate an indoor multi-tier cannabis cultivation facility. Topics included pre-design considerations, specifics on each growing system, and starting up your space for the first time.


“Each day of a cannabis life indoors is more than 1% of its total life span. So, every single hour of every single day has an impact. Compare that to a human’s life span, where every day in our lives is less than 0.4% of our life span.”

– Anders Peterson

1. Pre-Design Considerations

During the pre-design phase for your multi-tier indoor cannabis grow room, you’ll want to build a team of experts. When assembling your design team, you’ll want to consider the site selection, space planning, workflow, vendor selection, a comprehensive bid analysis, and how state and local regulations and budget impact your overall design. 


Architecture & Engineering Teams, A&E:

It’s critical to select someone or a firm with a proven track record in multi-tiered cannabis cultivation, facility design, and engineering. Several architects and engineers have served the industry well for over ten years and learned many common pitfalls to avoid. As Michael explains, “What looks good on paper does not always translate well operationally and can lead to bottlenecks, poor workflow, increased labor, and operational expenses.”


Cannabis Consultant

One team member that is critical in the design process is a cannabis consultant. A cannabis consultant assists with equipment selection, helps provide inputs for financial modeling, describes workflows and SOPs, and answers general strategy questions for owners while also serving as the owner’s representative to help answer questions for the A&E team. 


Selecting Vendors

Vendors are a valuable source of information when designing your grow room. Anders explains, “Vendors get to see hundreds of facilities, and many share great insights.” Anders mentions when preparing for an indoor vertical farm, “Choose a group of equipment vendors to work with that have experienced working together on projects, so you can feel confident that all the systems will integrate without custom construction or engineering.” Racking providers like Pipp Horticulture is often the first vendor you engage during the design process because benching layouts dictate the sizing of many systems down the road, such as your lighting, plant count, and even your HVAC capacity. Anders states, “It’s beneficial to establish your racking layout early on in the process and feel confident about it, just to limit the number of revisions and change orders down the road.”


Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing – MEP 

Your MEP team is your core engineering team. Civil, structural, and environmental engineers may also be involved in your project. In a cannabis grow room design, MEP plays a vital role in ensuring the proper functioning of various equipment and systems required to cultivate cannabis plants.


Comprehensive Bid Analysis

Another important pre-design consideration is to complete a comprehensive bid analysis. A comprehensive bid analysis evaluates and compares bids from different vendors or contractors for a project or service on a “apples-to-apples” basis. A bid analysis aims to select the vendor or contractor that offers the best value for money based on the project’s requirements and budget.

2. Site Evaluation & Budget

Site Evaluation

You may not think it, but there is “an order to things when building a new grow facility, and ideally, you have assembled your design team and engaged some vendors before selecting a building site,” Anders states. Leveraging the experience of your design team and vendors during a site evaluation can help avoid costly building upgrades or delays on your project. 

When choosing a location, always check what utilities you have on-site and, if you have to upgrade them, how long it will take and what it will cost. Anders explains, “More often than not, you’re going to have to run additional power to these facilities, sometimes gas. Most commercial buildings today don’t have the infrastructure that indoor growers need. It’s good to locate a building close to a dense urban area with an established and stable grid.” 

Another consideration for your site is that the roofs of most commercial buildings do not support the heavy HVAC systems required for indoor cultivation. You will want to ensure “plenty of room to mount the equipment on-grade (on the ground) around the building while still leaving space for parking and access for delivery vehicles and such.” 

The climate in the specific area that you are considering for your future grow facility can even impact the performance of your equipment and the operation of rooms. Often nuanced considerations such as these should be considered, which is why assembling a solid team of professionals is valuable.

Key Functional and Physical Considerations

There are specific areas when evaluating a building that you will want to consider when assessing a particular site:

1. Floor Conditions

Del explains that the floor condition is one of the most significant considerations you will want to consider when evaluating a building for multi-tier rooms. Builders will install the multi-level mobile racking systems on the floor, “you need to make sure that the foundation is good and level for this application and equipment.” Avoid cracks and poor-quality slabs.

2. Column Spacing

Column spacing can significantly influence the racking layout and room utilization. “Generally, 40-foot spans between columns is fairly normal, basically as big of a span as you can get and still have the structural integrity to support all the HVAC systems,” Del explains when describing the space between columns.

3. Ceiling Height

Considering the ceiling height and how “vertical” you want to go is something to remember during the site selection process. Not considering the ceiling height can “eliminate some cultivation tiers when looking at going multi-level.” You want to ensure you have the space to grow as tall and high as you want in your grow facility.

4. Location of Facility – Fire Code

Before starting your build, you must understand your area’s fire code. For example, firewalls and room sizes can play into fire code compliance. Contact your local fire marshall for local information or contact other local cultivars to see their experience from a fire code standpoint. The NFPA National Fire Protection Agency has been working on NFPA 420 Codes & Standards, specifically for cannabis cultivation. Del suggests, “Anybody looking at building a facility in the near future to get on the NFPA website and try to sign up for updates.”

 Budget 

Before endeavoring upon the buildout of any indoor grow facility, ensure you have raised the appropriate amount of capital to avoid cutting corners in your design that can impact your business’s performance. Often project costs add up quicker than expected, and tough sacrifices to your design must be made, which can limit a facility’s yield potential and productivity. As Michael would say, this is “Building a Bugatti on a Toyota budget.”

Having a realistic idea of how much you want to spend and staying within that budget will help immensely. Michael states, “Any delays on getting to first harvest have significant and dramatic impacts in the millions of dollars.” Working with a cannabis consultant or an accounting firm can help with financial modeling before designing your building.

3. Facility Planning

Now that you have identified your design team, secured a location, and have a general sense of the rules of engagement, it’s time to plan your grow facility’s macro and micro details. The first step in the space planning process is to create a list of all rooms in the building and put together a narrative about what procedure will be happening in each room. This list will help your architects and engineers understand your goals, the infrastructure requirements for each room, and the feasibility of your design. 

“A strong facility design will typically go through multiple revisions,” Michael states. In contrast, “an efficient design team can develop full construction documents in 90 days or less, assuming that you can answer all their questions and provide them with all the information they need.”


Best Practices for Laying Out Live Plant Rooms Efficiently/Operations Plan

Most cannabis genetics today take, on average, nine weeks to complete the flowering phase. Due to this pre-determined genetic clock of cannabis, “it’s beneficial to have the number of your flower rooms be in multiples of three,” Anders states. Ideally, for example, you have about nine flower rooms, each with a nine-week cycle. In this case, your staff does the same weekly tasks, including a harvest, once a week. This order and timing helps keep your process orderly and smooth. This way, “you can efficiently rotate the veg plants from your veg room into your flower rooms without creating a bottleneck.”

Common Workflows

When planning your facility, you’re trying to create a flow, which Michael calls the “Path of the Plant.” You’re designing around the natural flow or path of the plant. In a cannabis facility, this path typically starts at the mother room, potentially with tissue culture, then to the veg room, flower room, and drying room.

Michael shares, “In a perfect world, if you have a rectangle building, you’re laying out your rooms in a linear line.” A linear layout line helps provide biosecurity strategies with a positive pressurization cascade from clean to dirty spaces. Also, consider the workflow through the facility and how many steps an employee must take to complete their job duties. Michael says, “Every step matters, and every step has a dollar amount associated with it.”

Best Practices When Planning for the Mobility of Racking Systems

A level, or flat, floor is ideal. This fundamental key will ensure the system can continue running and performing as expected. Drainage design is next. We highly recommend using an in-ground trench that is parallel to the track. There are two significant advantages, the ability to accommodate mobility and, ultimately, giving you more cultivation and vertical space for your plants to grow. Electrical and irrigation drops are the next piece to pay attention to where it is most of the time. The most common spot for this is at the front of the system for easy accessibility. 

Next, you will want to keep an eye out for any kind of interference points that would require last-minute adjustments – for example, Del mentions, “low drop ceiling, plumbing coming down inside the walls, columns, or electrical panels can create some interference points that require last minute adjustments on-site during the installation process.” Multiple options are available to access the multi-tiers: Step Stools, Folding or Rolling ladders, Man Lifts, or the best option – ELEVATE® Platform System, built for our Pipp racks and is a safe, flexible, and efficient way to access those upper tiers.

4. Design Recommendations for Each Growth Phase

Mother Room

It is best to have separate rooms for your mother, clone, and veg plants to provide optimum growing conditions while reducing cross-contamination. If you must run a combined mixed-use nursery, Anders states, “We often see these being three tiers with the bottom tier taller to house mother plants and the top two tiers shorter to hold veg plants.” For dedicated mother rooms, we have seen growers shifting away from single-tier, six months to a-year-old mother plants to double stacking smaller to medium mother plants with a shorter lifespan. The smaller, shorter lifespan mother approach provides more supple cuttings than woody cuttings from old moms and reduces the risk of pest and pathogen accumulation.  

Michael explains his process of double stacking mother plants, “generally, I’ll keep my younger mothers on the top elevation, and that elevation will be a shorter elevation, the bottom elevation, which will be a taller elevation so that I can hold my more mature mothers.” He explains that having younger mother plants in your cycle is nice to have fewer issues. Michael can get a significant increase in better “A-grade” cuttings versus the older mother plants. With the older plants, you would need to get cuttings from the inside or the outside where lighting levels aren’t the same. Mother rooms can vary in size depending on how many genetics the grower wants to have available to rotate through production. Double-stacked mother rooms help house additional genetics in a smaller space, allowing you to allocate square footage for flower production.

 

Clone Room

Clone Rooms are relatively straightforward, with most growers opting to propagate clones on triple-tier wire mesh shelving carts. This “clone cart” design allows growers to fit a lot of clones in a small space. Depending on your cloning SOP and tray inserts, you can fit between three to six hundred clones on one cart.  If you do not have a dedicated clone room, Anders prefers to “house the clone carts on the side of the veg-room rather than in the mother room.” This allows you to enter the mother room less frequently and protect your valuable genetics from unnecessary risk.

 

Veg Room

Veg rooms are the most common rooms growing multi-tier, where we have seen growers getting most comfortable growing vertically. Anders mentions, “ In the early days of legalization, we understood less about indoor cultivation facility design than we do today. Often, veg rooms were undersized for a facility, creating a significant bottleneck and leaving flower rooms unpopulated for longer than needed.” The natural solution is to take advantage of the cubic footage of your commercial building and grow vertically. “Common best practice now when sizing your total veg canopy for a facility is to allocate between 20% to 30% of your total flowering canopy footprint for veg space.”

 

Flower Room

“A well-designed and engineered facility can produce, in some cases, up to two to three the amount of yield than of a poorly designed facility of the same size,” Michael states. Pipp has installed more than 2,500 vertically stacked grow rooms over the past six years, and some of the best insights and things we’ve learned are on the design of a vertically stacked flower room. Two-tiered flower rooms are more common than three-tiered flower rooms. However, three-tiers are getting increasingly popular due to the fixed cost absorption of producing more products per square foot. Two versus three tiers also really depend on the constraints of your building, your ceiling height, license type, and how much flowering canopy you need for your business plan.

For labor and harvesting efficiency and climate control reasons, we found that a good sweet spot for the overall size of a flower room is between 2,000-3,000 canopy square feet, regardless of that being two or three tiers. We recommend row lengths of 32-40′ or shorter for good airflow within the room. The longer the rows, the more likely microclimates are to form. Tip: “When it comes to operating a multi-tier flower room, transitioning the plants to flower and timing the stretch is everything. Before moving the plant from the veg room to the flower room, it is best to set the climate to VPD to match the VPD conditions in your veg room to limit the stress.” – Anders Peterson.

Pipp recognized early on that proper airflow is one of the most significant limiting factors to success within a multi-tier grow room. To prevent or reduce microclimates within the space and create a consistent environment, in-rack airflow systems are necessary. Del mentions, “The goal is the have the same environment throughout the room. Whether it’s the first tier or the fourth tier, we’re trying to make it as consistent as possible.”

Vertical Air Solutions, VAS, was developed to be a low-profile in-rack air circulation system that seamlessly integrates with the lighting and the racking to ensure that it is a smaller form factor and takes up as little space as possible. Anders mentions, “Often the most limiting factor to producing quality and good yields of a multi-tier flower room is an improperly designed mechanical system.” What we find to be successful is supplying the air in the front main aisle, letting the in-rack airflow fans capture the dehumidified, conditioned air, and pushing it down the length of the rows. Ideally, these rows are less than 32 to 40 feet to limit air travel distance. And then, the air is returned to the back wall at multiple elevations and completely recirculates along this path. Michael states, “Your in-rack air circulation is only as good as the HVAC system design.”

 

Drying/Curing Room

For many, the design and operation of a drying room can be challenging and, if not done correctly, can result in a significant bottleneck and degradation of product quality. It balances science, traditional methods, and “respect for the plant.” From a design standpoint, you typically see an undersized drying room and undersized HVAC and dehumidification capacities. Cultivators can grow a beautiful final product that is high quality, yet in a matter of days, it starts degrading from an underperforming dry/cure process. 

There are a wide variety of options and solutions for each grower’s unique approach to drying. Our mobile carts help assist with room-to-room mobility; transferring the plants onto a cart and then into the dry room is a significant advantage. Something to keep in mind when using our dry carts is paying attention to door heights. Choosing door heights and widths that can accommodate the movement of all equipment throughout your facility to avoid issues during startup and operation is essential. 

Tip: “As a best practice, we encourage cultivators to have minimal downtime between harvests—ideally, a next-day room reset. We define a next-day room reset as harvesting all the plants in one day or shift in that flowering room or zone, cleaning and sanitizing that room ideally the same day or the very first thing the next morning. Then you are resetting and repopulating that flower room the day after harvest. Each day that you are not flowering has significant ramifications on potential revenue loss.” – Michael Williamson.

We also provide complete mobile units in a variety of options. Light-duty rivet units are a robust and solid solution but a bit lighter than some bulk racks. Bulk racks for the dry room come with the ability to use the ELEVATE® Platform System, having access to the higher levels. Different options include hang bars, flat wire grids, or cantilever finger bars. The cantilever finger bars provide flexibility and easy access for hanging plants in the dry room. 

 

Why You Would Choose One Process Versus Another

Some growers prefer to hang the entire plant; others like to break a plant down into individual branches at harvest. Anders mentions, “It’s best to size a dry room to fit a whole harvest from a single flower room at a time.” Most growers today prefer the single load-in strategy of one flower room into one right-sized dry room. Another best practice for a dry room is installing a timer for your overhead lights to help limit photo-oxidation of your product during drying. Install an auto closer on all doors in your dry room to keep the doors shut as often as possible to prevent uneven drying and loss of capacity from your HVAC system. “In summary, each plant stage, including harvesting and the strategies you deploy, can either have a beneficial or non-beneficial impact on the quality of your final product. Tuning your mindset to consider and evaluate not just what you do to plants, but why and how it positively or negatively impacts the end user is the ultimate goal.” – Michael Williamson.

In Conclusion

Designing a successful multi-tier indoor cannabis grow room requires careful consideration of several vital factors. With proper planning and execution, you can create a highly productive and efficient indoor grow room that yields high-quality cannabis. Reach out to the Pipp team with any questions regarding indoor vertical farming. You never know; you might be able to fit more into the existing space you already have. Now that you are prepared to design your multi-tier indoor grow facility, join us for our next webinar, where we will discuss best practices for the day-to-day operation of these facilities and share valuable tricks of the trade.

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Evolution of Indoor Vertical Farming Webinar with MJBizDaily

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Evolution of Indoor Vertical Farming Webinar with MJBizDaily

Trulieve

The Past, Present & Future

What does evolution mean? One definition of evolution is the gradual development of something, specifically from a simple to a more complex form. As humans, we grow to adapt and change to our environment. As we see the effects of climate change slowly integrating into our daily lives, we must start thinking ahead and change how we operate.

The adaptation of indoor vertical farming has become the new norm for many growing operations. Primarily due to the success of allowing cultivators to maximize their production capability, reduce operating costs, and increase their overall revenue per square foot. Utilizing vertical racking systems has further enhanced the efficiency of indoor vertical farming, providing a space-efficient solution for optimal plant growth. Additionally, incorporating vertical air solutions has proven to be instrumental in maintaining an ideal growing environment, contributing to the overall success of indoor vertical farming operations.

Michael Williamson, Director of Cultivation, and Anders Peterson, Cannabis Operations Specialist, recently presented a webinar with MJBizDaily where the team discussed the Evolution of Vertical Farming. From the early adoption of multi-tier nurseries by legacy growers to the cutting-edge vertical farms of today, viewers gained valuable insights into the progression of vertical farming equipment and designs and our predictions for the future.

Brief History of Vertical Farming

Today’s vertical farming is a relatively new concept, yet we’ve seen people use aspects of vertical farming for thousands of years. The first example of vertical farming dates back almost 2600 years ago to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Anders explains the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as “a man-made oasis in the middle of the desert, almost 60 feet tall, with advanced irrigation systems that could pump water 60 feet into the air to plants from around the world.” While just 1000 years ago, we learned that the Aztecs used floating gardens called chinampa. These gardens were one of the first hydroponic raft-style forms of agriculture, correlating to a technique of the Iroquois and the Cherokee use, referred to as three sisters or three sisters’ agriculture.

By 1915, an American geologist, Gilbert Bailey, coined Vertical Farming and studied an alternative way to increase farm area and produce quality crops. The events of World War One drove this experiment – with Gilbert creating a way to grow plants underground. By “blasting holes into the ground, with low-cost explosives produced during World War One, and growing plants underground in tunnels,” created a way to “protect them, shield them from the war, and locate them closer to dense urban areas.” Modern vertical farming concepts were developed by the 1950s, at the beginning of the Cold War. Many greenhouse and hydroponic systems were introduced and developed during this time.

In the 1990s, Columbia Professor Dickson Despommier, the father of modern vertical farming, “saw vertical farming as the answer to bringing food production closer to the consumers and reducing the carbon footprint, increasing sustainability,” Anders explains. Professor Dickson was interested in learning about New York and how we can help feed dense urban areas. For nine years, he taught experiments at Columbia on how to run calculations and scenarios of how tall skyscrapers would need to be for vertical farming. How many people could we feed if we planted food on every rooftop across New York? The experiments and concepts created then would evolve into what we see today.

How Cannabis Legalization Spurred

Adoption & Innovation

In the early 2010s, Vertical Farming was discussed and implemented into modern farms for non-cannabis crops but had not yet been adopted for cannabis. Anders explains, “It wasn’t until we saw adult-use cannabis legalization around 2014 in Colorado that the innovation kicked off and started to surge.” Due to the cannabis crop having a high value, growers were used to growing indoors due to the prohibition. They had a very high value and margin, allowing for innovation in the market.

From 2010 to 2015, more grow room designs were static, single-tier benches with HPS lights. Once 2013-2015 came along, we started seeing growers looking at horticulture systems and practices, adopting these practices, and having access to vendors and technology. From 2015 to 2018 – Larger racking manufacturers began entering the space. Pipp Horticulture joined the horticulture space in 2017 with our first indoor multi-level mobile vertical racking system. This system was installed in flower rooms at Fog City Farms. By the end of 2018, Pipp had 40 installed locations. Now Pipp Horticulture has quickly become the industry-leading provider of Mobile Vertical Growing Solutions with installations in 45 states/provinces, 450 facilities, and over 2,500 grow rooms worldwide.

Progression of Vertical Racking Designs

One significant change to the vertical farming industry was the introduction of Fluence, an LED lighting company. They created their first Spyder light with a low profile, no fans, and a full spectrum white light LED, grabbing much attention from cultivators. Michael explains, “A common theme for the most significant limiting factor for good yields, plant health, and phenotypic expression in these rooms was a lack of environmental controls. We saw an industry shift within 2020-2022 where the ancillary equipment and services innovation showed significant improvement.“ We now see HVAC systems with integrated hot gas, reheat, and dehumidification much better suited for the indoor vertical farming space. 

Anders explains, “in terms of modulating controls, and sensors, they’re not running off thermostats on the wall; they’re running off canopy sensors in the room. We also started seeing purpose-built in-rack airflow systems, such as Vertical Air Solutions.”After the first double-stacked mobile vertical racking system was installed in Fog City Farms, James Cunningham quickly realized he needed a purpose-built airflow solution to move air through the canopy of the multi-level racks. James and his partner, Matt Bogner, created Vertical Air Solutions, which provides increased, consistent airflow control while integrating filtration and CO2 delivery.  

As the indoor vertical farming industry continues to advance with discoveries and lessons learned from prior trials, the following questions come to mind “how do we make the labor more efficient? How do we make employees happier working in a multi-tier room” while also advancing in “the developments in the racks themselves?” Anders brings up the TRAK-FREE™ Carriage System, having the option to remove tracks on the floor for a more flexible work environment while also developing the ELEVATE® Platform System, allowing easy access to the top tiers of your vertical farm. Michael, who was involved in the development of the ELEVATE® Platform System, when touring facilities has asked who has adopted the platform system and how it’s helped their daily operations. Their answer almost every time is, “Game Changer.” Instead of having one row to service and one side of the canopy to utilize, growers can now run two of the ELEVATE® Platform Systems on the “canopy that they’re working on, putting workers on both sides. It dramatically reduces tasks while improving safety and ergonomics,” Michael states.

Where We Are Today

Where are we today with cannabis? “Much more competitive as more markets are opening,” Anders states. Production is at an all-time high in many mature states bringing the price per pound lower. What is the trick to the market today? Efficiency. Anders brings up that “a common thing discussed today in vertical farming facilities and single tier facilities is quantifying the performance metrics of these facilities.” Cultivators are now looking at a vertical approach. Michael brings up all the factors involved with a new build, “new facility, a new state, new laws, new building, new equipment, new team, new LED lighting; it takes a while to understand new technology. People have had time to work out the mistakes made and are now pushing the envelope of what’s possible. Growers are finding the balance of the design, and builders are figuring out the balance of how to build inside these systems.” Seeing an increase in yield metrics today. Anders states, “We’ve built enough facilities to learn these lessons.”

Prediction for the Future

We now see lessons learned in the cannabis industry translating to the non-cannabis sector. Non-cannabis vertical farm applications to consider would be leafy greens, strawberries, and herbs. As Anders would say, “closing the loop coming full circle to where we started.” Locating facilities closer to dense urban areas limits the food distance of transportation. We’re now seeing a move to indoor vertical farming in the Middle East, growing vertically in Abu Dhabi and Dubai due to climate and moving the plants from where they’re grown to where the consumers are, growing these plants at a much lower cost all year round. Michael states, “People realize today, more than ever, how unstable our food supply chain is. With our ever-growing population, some really difficult challenges exist to overcome.”

As far as cannabis and predictions for the future, technology keeps advancing and can be taken advantage of in the indoor cultivation market. Michael predicts, “Between the implementation of AI and robotics that exists today, I anticipate that you’ll be able to call trays from whatever tier, whatever room, whatever level, and a robot will go grab those for you, bring those to a centralized headhouse or processing building, where workers will be basically in line.” Those workers in the headhouse could even be automated robotics. Limiting the number of times we touch plants helps limit the spread of diseases. Humans tend to be the spreaders of pests. The more we can keep human interaction to a minimum, the fewer pesticides used and fewer diseases and pests spread. Because of this automation, Michael states, “We’ll start seeing more tiers in cannabis going higher, even more vertically, occupying that cubic footage.” Also, with the federal banking reform, cannabis operators have “more traditional access to capital and loans. This will help spur the next phase in the evolution of vertical farming.”

In Conclusion

In conclusion, vertical farming has come a long way over the years. It has evolved rapidly due to various factors, such as technological advancements in indoor vertical racking designs, cannabis legalization, and the efforts of companies like Pipp. The history of vertical farming has shown that it has the potential to advance how we grow our food, and it has already started to impact urban areas significantly. Pipp Horticulture has been at the forefront of this evolution of vertical farming, offering innovative solutions to improve the efficiency and sustainability of indoor vertical farming.

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MJBizCon 2022

Pipp Horticulture 2023 Trade Shows

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Pipp Horticulture 2023 Trade Shows

The Ultimate Vertical Grow System - Pipp Horticulture

See You Soon!

The 2023 trade show season is in full swing, and we can’t wait to see you! Stop by our booth at an upcoming show for FREE swag and to learn how Pipp’s Mobile Vertical Grow Racks can help elevate your grow operation. Read on for a list of the 2023 trade shows we will be attending!

February 27-28 in Las Vegas, NV

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Indoor Ag-Con is the largest indoor agriculture trade show and conference in the USA for indoor vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture.

Find us at Booth #723 at the Caesars Forum

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March 10-12 in Boston, MA

The 2023 New England Cannabis Convention, a.k.a. “The Annual Meeting of the East Coast Cannabis Industry,” is back! Featuring a sold-out exhibit hall showcasing hundreds of companies spanning the full spectrum of the cannabis and hemp industries, plus five full programming tracks running all three days, with over 120 expert speakers covering all the relevant topics and news for the New England markets.

Find us at Booth #112 at the Hynes Convention Center

Attend Our Speaker Session!

This year we will be hosting a speaker session at 2 PM on 3/11 with Director of Cultivation Michael Williamson & Cannabis Operations Specialist Anders Peterson!

During this session, the team’s learning objectives will include “space planning & design layout, important factors to understand before you start, understanding environmental control needs in a multi-tier indoor cultivation facility, and genetics & key traits to consider in a multi-tier indoor cultivation facility. We will also discuss labor optimization topics such as improving safety, ergonomics, and productivity.”

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June 1-3 in New York City

New York and the entire tri-state area are becoming one of the largest cannabis and hemp economic sectors in the country. Attend the 3-day CWCBExpo and stay for the special networking and Cannabis Week events in New York City – where business gets done!

Find us at Booth #515 at the Javits Convention Center

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June 13-15 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

GreenTech is the global meeting place for all professionals involved in horticulture technology. GreenTech focuses on the early stages of the horticulture chain and production issues relevant to growers. GreenTech offers two yearly exhibitions.

Find us at Booth #05 164VF at the RAI Amsterdam

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June 29-30 in Berlin, Germany

ICBC Berlin is Europe’s longest-running and biggest B2B trade show and conference. Europe’s premiere cannabis business networking environment, the event attracts 350+ sponsors and exhibitors and 5000+ attendees from 80+ countries.

Find us at Booth #337-339 at the Estrel Berlin Hotel

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July 15-18 in Columbus, OH

Join us to learn best practices and foster business connections so you and your business can perform better, grow faster than ever, and be prepared for the future.

AmericanHort, the leading national association for the green industry, will host Cultivate’23—the premier event for the entire green industry. Cultivate attracts thousands of industry professionals and visitors from all over the United States and the world.

Find us at Booth #2019 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center

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August 15-17 in Las Vegas, NV

Cannabis Conference is the leading event for professionals from plant-touching cannabis businesses drawing in thousands of attendees from throughout the U.S., Canada, and nearly 30 other countries.

Find us at Booth #717 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino

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November 28 – December 1 in Las Vegas, NV

Connect with 1,400+ exhibitors while walking the 280,000+ square feet expo, hearing insights from 180+ speakers focusing on content with six pre-show forums. Connect with countless networking opportunities at MjBizCon.

Booth # Coming Soon!

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Pipp’s Mobile Vertical Grow Racks Lift Farmers to Higher Ground – Max Yield Magazine

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Pipp’s Mobile Vertical Grow Racks Lift Farmers to Higher Ground – Max Yield Magazine

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Pipp Horticulture featured in the latest Maximum Yield article

Leading mobile vertical grow rack provider, Pipp Horticulture, is paving the way for indoor and greenhouse growers looking to maximize their space and cultivation production.

After 40 years of dominating the mobile storage industry, it only took a few short years for Pipp Horticulture to become the industry-leading provider of mobile vertical grow racks, focused on the mission to develop the most innovative products specifically designed to meet the needs of indoor growers. The company passionately and meticulously meets the needs of its clients. With over 2,000 installations worldwide, their innovation and commitment to continual improvement have enabled them to stand out and expand their leadership position in this niche industry by eliminating obstacles, increasing efficiencies, and boosting revenues for indoor growers.

Pipp and its partners, Greenhaus Industries and Vertical Air Solutions (VAS) were awarded several U.S. patents for their indoor mobile vertical farming systems and airflow solutions. Additionally…

To check out the full article about Pipp’s groundbreaking products and services for cultivators across the globe, check out Maximum Yield’s full article, “Pipp’s Mobile Vertical Grow Racks Lift Farmers to Higher Ground,” with the link below!

Click Here!

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Cannabis Conference 2022

Vertical Farming | What To Know Before You GROW UP!

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Vertical Farming | What To Know Before You GROW UP!

Cannabis Conference 2022

The Pipp Horticulture team is no stranger to the Cannabis Conference stage. During the 2022 Cannabis Conference, Pipp’s team of cultivation professionals and engineering experts took the stage during the final day as session speakers! Michael Williamson, Director of Cultivation at Pipp Horticulture, James Cunningham, Co-Founder and Director of Cultivation at Vertical Air Solutions, and Del Rockwell, Product Manager at Pipp Horticulture, discussed the essential considerations behind space planning and design for a multi-tier indoor cultivation facility. 

During the Technologies and Solutions Session on Vertical Farming, Michael Williamson, Director of Cultivation at Pipp Horticulture, stated, “With everything in cannabis, it’s all about the little details.” Four main topics were discussed during the session when considering “What To Know Before You GROW UP!” Below you’ll find the key takeaways on how to improve your safety, ergonomics, and productivity.

Vertical Farming Space Planning & Design Layout

Mother Plants

Currently, we’re seeing many different trends in the cannabis industry, particularly around vertical farming. Everyone is used to double or triple multi-tiered environments for their clone rooms, but we are now seeing a shift from having huge mother plants to having multiple mother plants in a two-tiered environment. Typically, you see traditional cultivators with huge moms taking as many cuttings as possible, cycling through their mother plants much faster, with a three-month life span. When going from a single-tier to double, you’re getting twice the amount of healthy, viable clones. Cultivators are now getting healthier plants, more healthy cuttings, and reducing pest and disease risks.

How High Can You Go? 

Cultivators still need to consider the layout of the entire facility. It’s vital to support your flower room and the volume of plants while considering the design regarding your operations workflow. “It’s tempting always to go as high as possible and as long as possible,” Del Rockwell states, “but many growers saw a ‘sweet spot’ at about 32 to 40 feet in length. We see about 12 to 14-foot tall works for most facilities for shelving.” Del states, “We can go longer,” but you have to consider how you will access everything, how effective it will be, and what the quality of the plants you will get from labor and access.

Air Circulation

When constructing the growing area, you’re putting layers across the room with an HVAC design and adding circulation to create a homogenous environment. “Many of us in the indoor space came from single-tier cultivation, where you have a big open ambient space between the canopy and the ceiling in the room,” James Cunningham states while discussing air circulation in the grow space. James continues, “Combining all this equipment into one room creates an impediment for the supply air coming from your HVAC and for your transpiration and heat load from your lights to get trapped in. As the distance shrinks from canopy to ceiling, the grower will need to find a way to create consistent temperature and humidity in the space. By introducing Vertical Air Solutions to your growing operations, you’ll receive mixing chambers bolted to the outside of the racks with inline fans to pull conditioned and dehumidified air. You strategically supply conditioned air to each tier space, creating consistency and a dissatisfying microclimate through the canopy.”

Design and Mechanical Engineering

“Design and mechanical engineering behind your HVAC are very important in your cultivation space,” notes James discussing the difference between a successful and low microbial or low melt mold and mildew crop. Design and mechanical engineering are one of the most overlooked aspects of the process, taking into account the supply, layout, and innovation at the beginning before it’s too late.

Environmental Control Needs

Regardless of your approach to sizing your HVAC, growers need to understand how to supply air strategically to their vertical space. “To drop the moisture out of the air, you have to cool it rapidly to get the air to condense and then supply it back to the room with a reheat element,” James stated. Typical HVAC systems installed into grow operations exchange air only a few times per hour; however, Vertical Air Solutions expects 20-30 complete room air exchanges per hour. The supply and returns can make a world of difference in the performance of your plants and mitigating disease.

Genetics and Key Traits

Thanks to Vertical Air Solutions, “now I can grow any cultivar,” Michael reflected during the discussion with James about his past focus on growing only certain types of cultivars in a vertical farming environment. With years of experience, James states, “what landed us being fairly successful in vertical spaces was understanding the genetics and knowing what we were getting into.” In the beginning, running Indica-dominant plants that didn’t stretch too far can now work with any strain but also introduce the Sativa-dominant plants that grow in the lights.

Vertical Farming
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Labor Optimization 

When thinking about single-tier grow operations, most are growing plants roughly five to seven feet tall, working on a rolling bench, and climbing a ladder to get to the very top. Pipp Horticulture considered this and “was the first to come up with a catwalk system that is seamless and easy to put into a system,” Michael states while talking about Pipp Horticulture’s ELEVATE™ Platform System. By incorporating ELEVATE™, growers no longer face challenges in a multi-tier environment. Employees can reach their level in a second or third-tier setting feeling safe and secure. Safety was one of the most critical priorities regarding design, flexibility, and efficiency. “One of the largest expenses you’re going to have over the lifetime of this facility is the labor expenses,” Del states. Anything to optimize and reduce the time spent on processes will be beneficial. When it comes to labor also comes liability. We always want to keep people and their safety first. 

In Conclusion

Shifting from a single-tiered grow room to a multi-tiered vertical farming environment helps optimize space and maximize profits. Subscribe to the What To Know Before You GROW UP podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to stay updated with the latest cultivation tactics and industry trends.

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📣 [MJBizCon RECAP] 📣 Wait until you see what we have in store for the year ahead! 🤯

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📣 [MJBizCon RECAP] 📣 Wait until you see what we have in store for the year ahead! 🤯

“I just want to thank everyone so much for stopping by our booth this year and for an absolutely great show. We are proud to announce our acquisition of GGS Structures, it’s going to be an alliance partnership that is unmatched in the industry. They have been in this business for 40 years with a team of highly skilled cultivation experts. Our team is extremely excited about it and we are thrilled about what it means for both companies. We look forward to seeing everyone here again next year bigger, better, and stronger. We appreciate all the clients that stopped by and told us how great the product is working for them, and look forward to working with all new clients that stopped by this year. Thank you very much MJBizCon 2021, can’t wait for 2022!” – Craig Umans, President of Pipp Horticulture

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Pipp Cultivating Cannabis Connections at MJBizCon 2021

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Pipp Cultivating Cannabis Connections at MJBizCon 2021

When you’re out roaming the massive floor of the MJBizCon conference & cannabis expo next week, stop by our booth and say hello. Pipp Horticulture is one of over 1,000 cannabis industry exhibitors that will attend the 10th annual MJBizCon in Las Vegas from Oct. 19 to 22, 2021.

“Come meet with our team of the most experienced cultivation experts in the vertical farming industry,” said John Ritter, Director of Sales at Pipp Horticulture.

Pipp Horticulture will be at booth #C6235. Visitors to Pipp’s booth can interact with the company’s innovative TRAK-FREE™ mobile vertical racking system to feel how smoothly it glides along the floor with a simple turn of the handle.

“This hands-on experience transforms a prospect into a customer,” said Tom French, Director of Engineering & Operations at Pipp. Attendees will also have an opportunity to see Pipp’s patent-pending ELEVATE™ Platform system up close and in person.

Elevate Your Vertical Farming IQ at MJBizCon 2021

Pipp Horticulture’s ELEVATE™ Platform System is a robust, lightweight, and portable deck that allows cultivators to access the upper levels of Pipp’s Multi-Tier Mobile Grow Racks quickly, efficiently and safely.

The company’s groundbreaking system integrates with Pipp’s Bulk Rack Shelving Systems without need for modifications. Growers can easily install The ELEVATE™ Platform System on new or existing Pipp mobile vertical grow racks. Be sure to ask us about the ELEVATE™ Platform System and any other Pipp products and services at MJBizCon. We’re here to help!

MJBizCon Is The Preeminent Cannabis Event of the Year

Produced by MJBizDaily, the cannabis industry’s top business news publication since 2011, MJBizCon is the cannabis industry’s most revered event.

“MJBizDaily is highly respected in the industry and this is reflected at every event,’’ said Craig Umans, President & CEO of Pipp Horticulture. “Our team has consistently walked away with valuable leads, conversations, and opportunities that invigorate us for the year ahead. There is a high level of engagement, which makes the experience worthwhile for all parties who participate.”  

Held on 250,000 sq. ft. of expo floor at Las Vegas Convention Center, the three-day MJBizCon event gives attendees enough space and time to experience all there is to offer. Pipp’s first year at MJBizCon was in 2017. While last year’s virtual show was excellent, the company is excited that MJBizCon will be live again in 2021.

“There’s nothing like having a face-to-face conversation with like-minded attendees,” said Curtis Dadian, National Sales Manager at Pipp. “In-person is something we have been waiting for with high anticipation.”

Besides promoting its core products and services at the marijuana business conference & expo, Pipp will have the opportunity to join business leaders, major private investors, wholesale cultivators, and other industry professionals at cannabis networking events and educational seminars.

MJBizCon’s 2021 keynote speaker ABC’s Shark Tank star and The Shark Group CEO, Daymond John. Daymond is also founder/CEO of FUBU and presidential ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. Networking events at MJBizCon this year are Achieving Equity in Cannabis, and Empowering Women in Cannabis while dozens of breakout sessions will bring Pipp and other players the latest trends and developments in cannabis. Here are just a few we’re looking forward to.

  • A Candid View of Cannabis Markets in 2021 and predictions for 2022
  • The Next Wave of Innovation and Investment in the Cannabis Economy
  • Supply Chain Interruptions, Shortages and New Contaminants: Cannabis Industry Impacts of Covid-19
  • Unicorn Yields : Raising the Bar of What Cannabis Can Produce feature latest technologies
  • From the Ground Up: Launching a Cannabis Cultivation Operation

“For cannabis companies seeking partnerships, advice, investors, connections or new products and services, MJ Biz Con is the place to do it,” said Curtis Dadian.

When you stop by Pipp’s booth #C6235, ask about our major industry announcement and be sure to enter the company’s giveaway for a chance to win Pipp’s exclusive Grower’s Survival Kit, valued at $500. The Pipp Grower’s Survival Kit includes merchandise from some of the most highly respected brands in the industry like YETI®, Revelry, Method Seven, Farmer’s Defense and more!

Look forward to connecting at MJBizCon 2021! 

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NEW ANNOUNCEMENT: PIPP Horticulture Acquires Vertical Air Solutions

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NEW ANNOUNCEMENT: PIPP Horticulture Acquires Vertical Air Solutions

Pipp Horticulture Acquires Vertical Air Solutions

This acquisition solidifies Pipp’s position as the preeminent Mobile Vertical Grow Rack provider for indoor vertical farming and
horticulture industries

December 10, 2020 – Walker, Michigan – December 10, 2020 – Pipp Horticulture (a division of Pipp Mobile Storage Systems, Inc., backed by Novacap) (“Pipp”), the leading provider of space‐saving, multi‐level mobile cultivation systems, announced today that it has acquired Vertical Air Solutions LLC (“VAS”). Based in Santa Cruz, California, VAS is a leader in providing In-Rack Airflow Systems and related products to the global indoor vertical farming industry.

“We are excited to welcome the entire VAS team, led by innovative entrepreneurs and powered by a dedicated group of employees, to the Pipp family of companies,” said Craig Umans, President and CEO, Pipp. “We have gotten to know the VAS team well in recent years, as they have been an integral part of our horticulture business, and their products are the ideal addition to our Mobile Vertical Grow Rack Systems. We look forward to integrating their leading technology into our continually expanding product offering to better serve the fast‐growing vertical indoor farming industry.”

 

“In 2017, when our ‘first of its kind’ airflow technology couldn’t fit into standard mobile racking configurations, Pipp Horticulture was prepared and willing to customize their system in order to accept ours. Our companies have since built a strong relationship and we’re excited to make the partnership official.” said James Cunningham, Founder of VAS. “We look forward to continuing our focus on innovation while providing top-tier solutions for the vertical farming industry. Pipp’s 40 years of experience in equipment sales and manufacturing is exactly the support VAS needs in order to facilitate our growth into new markets.”

“The acquisition of VAS continues our mission of expanding our product offering to better serve the vertical farming industry. Pipp Horticulture brings a combination of the most knowledgeable and experienced Team along with the best products, competitive pricing, and best-in-class customer service” said Craig Umans, President and CEO, Pipp.

About Pipp Horticulture
Pipp Horticulture is the industry‐leading provider of vertical farming and space optimization solutions. We work with commercial agriculture professionals globally, to design, install, and optimize operational spaces throughout cultivation, post‐harvest, manufacturing, and distribution facilities through the implementation of vertical and mobile rack and cart systems. The Pipp team
merges over 40 years of commercial mobile storage experience with horticulture industry experts with over 30 years of operational experience in commercial agriculture and seed‐to‐sale production. Pipp provides expertise, insight, and network connections far beyond our mobile systems in support of our mission to augment financial performance and mitigate risk for our partners. For more information, please visit www.pipphorticulture.com

About Vertical Air Solutions
Vertical Air Solutions™️ leads the business of providing In-Rack Airflow Systems and related products to the global indoor vertical
farming industry. With a relentless focus on innovation in improving the efficiency and yield of its customers and an unwavering
commitment to stable and interdependent partnerships in its route to market, Vertical Air Solutions positions itself as a responsible, customer‐focused, responsive, and politically and socially involved player in the horticulture ecosystem. For more information, please visit vertairsolutions.com

About Novacap
Founded in 1981, Novacap is a leading Canadian private equity firm with CA$3.6 billion of assets under management. Its distinct investment approach, based on deep operational expertise and an active partnership with entrepreneurs, has helped accelerate growth and create long‐term value for its numerous portfolio companies. With an experienced management team and substantial financial resources, Novacap is well-positioned to continue building world‐class businesses. Backed by leading global institutional investors, Novacap’s deals typically include leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, add‐on acquisitions, IPOs, and privatizations. Over the last 39 years, Novacap has invested in more than 90 companies and completed more than 140 add‐on acquisitions. Novacap has offices in Brossard, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario. For more information, please visit www.novacap.ca.

For more information:
Craig Umans, President and CEO
Pipp Mobile Storage Systems, Inc.
616‐988‐4044
[email protected]

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