AppHarvest chooses Geerlofs as Refrigeration Partner four times in a row

AppHarvest stands for harvest of freshest vegetables and fruits out of the Appalachian mountains. In Morehead, Kentucky the company invested during 2020 in a 60 acre indoor farm in which tomatoes are grown: beefsteak tomatoes as well as tomatoes on the vine. Complete with hybrid lighting (combining natural light, LED light and high pressure sodium lights), water management (recycling rain water) and robotics for both crop management as well as harvesting. Indoor farming or Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in a set up and size not seen before.

Geerlofs Refrigeration was invited to take care of the cooling for the Morehead facility for two areas. The grading area of 6.000 m² (1.4 acres) and a cold store of nearly 500 m² (nearly 5500 sqft). Two refrigeration systems of in total 450kW take care of the perfect climate for the crops: precooling directly after harvest and stable climate for grading and storage. Keeping fresh produce fresh longer.

Since this launching project, AppHarvest has gained interest in the US because of its innovative approach to agriculture. Now the company has decided to build three more locations for indoor farming aka Controlled Environment Agriculture. Berea, Richmond and Somerset (KY) will get a 60 acres for fruit and vegetables, a 15 acres green house for leafy vegetables and a 30 acres greenhouse for berries. The same principle, different crops. The added value Geerlofs offers is the ability to design, from scratch if needed, the right refrigeration for each crop matching the logistics needed. Design is just the start: we manufacture, install and service the equipment. We write our own software which not only controls the complete equipment, it also visualizes the entire facility offering the end user perfect insight in his crop. In the end we focus that our last day on site is AppHarvest’s first successful day in harvesting fresh and tasty produce.

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