LettUs Grow is a Bristol-based indoor farming technology company. Its team of growers, engineers, plant scientists, software developers and business experts care deeply about food and the environment, and use innovative aeroponic technology to grow produce sustainably. We worked with LettUs Grow to convert two 40ft high cube shipping containers into vertical container farms.
The Customer
Founded in 2015, LettUs Grow is a farming technology company on a mission to innovate agriculture and tackle climate change by creating sustainable food systems across the globe. To achieve this, the company supplies customers with aeroponic indoor farms, called DROP & GROWs, housed inside converted shipping containers.
DROP & GROW is a vertical farming system. It features powerful aeroponic technology that works alongside the company’s own farm management software, Ostara, to enable producers to grow local and sustainable produce 365 days a year with reduced impact on the environment.
LettUs Grow is the leading aeroponic container farm supplier in the UK market and by utilising 40ft containers to create the vertical farms, the company supports producers in successfully growing fresh produce indoors with a compact footprint, taking pressure off degraded arable soil, eliminating the need for pesticides, and reducing water consumption.
The Challenge
Building indoor shipping container farms comes with challenges. For example, the internal space needed to be maximised to ensure sufficient room was available for growing and storage, whilst also creating an ergonomic environment for producers to work within. The finish of the container also needed to look professional and cohesive, which proved difficult to achieve when working with different installers and suppliers for each container farm.
With this in mind, LettUs Grow needed a conversion company that could offer a turnkey solution, including insulation, electrical systems, HVAC systems, plumbing, and storage for farming equipment – all produced and installed at the same time by the same team.
The Solution
Following the customer’s brief, the conversions team started with two 40ft high cube containers to convert into fully functional aeroponic farms that included insulation, plumbing and electrical work.
After meeting with LettUs Grow and finding out more about their exact requirements, the conversions team offered advice on how LettUs Grow could improve functionality of the container farm unit and created an updated design, bringing the vision to life with 3D CAD models. The improvements included advice on pipe routing, insulation dimensions, HVAC mounting and installing mounting points, and overall aesthetic options to provide a professional finish.
The interior of the containers were modified to enable temperature control and be able to operate in a wet environment. To achieve this, the conversions team lined and insulated the containers with melamine wall linings, including a cap and coved vinyl floor, to provide a waterproof, easy to clean surface. Vents were installed into the sides of the containers to allow free airflow and HVAC units were added to offer precise temperature control.
The container units were also fitted out with electrics, including lighting, and plug sockets, and drains. To make it easier for producers to access the units, a personnel door was added to each container. Finally, the exterior of the container was painted in S Jones’ purpose-built paint booth using high-quality paint in the LettUs Grow brand colours.
The completed containers have been sold to one of LettUs Grow’s customers, who will be supplying produce to restaurants and supermarkets.
What LettUs Grow had to say
“The DROP & GROW containers are great because they can be built off site and then shipped to customers relatively easily. Once they arrive they only need to be connected to power, water, drainage and internet, enabling customers to get up and running with indoor farming operations relatively quickly.
“We approached S Jones as we were looking for a partner to convert the containers to lab-like conditions for indoor farming, we also needed a partner with a high enough capacity to fulfil our pipeline of orders over the coming years. We were impressed by the facilities and experience for container conversions at S Jones, and we quickly got an appreciation for the value that S Jones could add to our products through the expertise gained from working with shipping containers day-in and day-out.
“I found the conversions team very easy to work with, and they have been incredibly accommodating to changes in the design over the course of the project. Their wealth of experience and expertise when it comes to container conversions has been evident, and resulted in many improvements to our initial designs for our shipping container farms.”
Ethan Pang, Delivery Manager at LettUs Grow
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