AlfaTech will become the integration and service partner for the products of Urban Crop Solutions (UCS) in the South East Asian region. After an already first successful joint project for the National University of Singapore, both technology companies will now work together for indoor vertical farming projects.
Urban Crop Solutions has since 2014, been active in the engineering, procurement, and construction of indoor vertical farming solutions for a broad spectrum of applications. Many of which have been commissioned and installed globally. Since there is a significant interest in indoor vertical farming in Asia, the company was looking for a partner that can integrate their technology in a larger scope of projects. Furthermore, the service aspect of an indoor vertical farm is an important corner stone of the UCS strategy, and therefore a regional representation for after-sales service is a logical and important step. AlfaTech, based in Singapore, has already for 10 years been providing turnkey project solutions – from consulting, design, build and project management, to facility management across Asia. The company has many projects in various industrial segments like the agri-tech and life sciences industry. Recently, they built the ‘National University of Singapore (NUS) Agricultural Translational Research Centre’ which is a facility designed to take high-density agriculture from innovation to industrial scale. Urban Crop Solutions served as the key technology partner in this project.
“Climate change, supply chain deficiencies and many other actual challenges make that agri-tech and thus also indoor vertical farming techniques will become very important for food production and industry. When the proposal came our way, we did not hesitate to partner with a seasoned technology provider like Urban Crop Solutions that wants to bring its knowledge and technology to our region. Commercial food production, research infrastructure and plant molecular farming applications are industries in which we see the highest potential in the short term” says Zach Wilson, Managing Director of AlfaTech Asia.
Jean Pierre Coene, CEO of Urban Crop Solutions, adds “The core of every indoor vertical farming project will always be the plant growth solutions. Notwithstanding this, the complexity of integrating these solutions in a broader architectural and industrial project is very often underestimated. Knowledge of local legislation, sourcing, but also customs and traditions are thus very important to commission a successful project. And this aspect, together with the after sales services make the products and services of Urban Crop Solutions very complementary with the offering of AlfaTech.”