Belgium-Based Vertical Farming Specialist Urban Crops Opens U.S. Office

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Urban Crops’ Pieter De Smedt and Maarten Vandecruys

Urban Crops, a Belgian company specializing in vertical farming and growing containers, recently established operations in the U.S. The company opened an office in Miami, FL, that will be responsible for all of North and South America. The opening is the next step in the global ambition of the company, according to Pieter De Smedt, U.S. Country Manager for Urban Crops, who will be leading the U.S. operations.

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Urban Crops is a total solution provider in the closed environment, vertical farming industry and has been in the process of expanding its business globally through new offices, as well as a network of sales agents. The company creates tailored growth infrastructures that are turnkey, automated, robotized, and able to be integrated into existing production facilities or food processing units.

Urban Crops also has its own range of growth container products and can supply seeds, substrates, and nutrients for all its growth recipes. Currently, the company has more than 160 varieties of crops that can be grown in its systems using growth protocols developed specifically for indoor farming by its team of plant scientists.

Growing crops in a climate-controlled, multi-layer environment with LED lights achieves shorter growth cycles, higher water efficiency, flexible but guaranteed harvests, and safe and healthy crops, according to De Smedt. The grow infrastructure can be installed in new buildings, as well as in existing buildings or unused spaces.

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Urban Crops’ main office is located in Belgium in the heart of the Western European vegetable industry and surrounded by internationally recognized machine building companies. In Belgium, the company has built the largest European automated growth indoor farm to date, used mainly for research and development purposes and test runs for potential customers.

“Opening an office in the U.S. became a necessity, as we have received numerous requests in the past months from the American continents,” says Maarten Vandecruys, Managing Director of Urban Crops. “Our grow systems and business model make it possible for anyone who has interest in the agri-food, medicinal industry, or any other crop production to start their own production activities.”

De Smedt adds, “Supplying innovative and high-quality solutions, products, and services is our core strength. Our U.S. presence is a very important factor if we want to service our clients and sales agents from this continent.”

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