I"We'll be growing chilies, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and possibly bell peppers using Sananbio's system," says Gerard Lim, Founder and CEO of Agroz Group, a Malaysian agtech company.
Just over three weeks ago, Agroz announced the opening of their latest EduFarm, a vertical farming facility based inside AEON Alpha Angle, a city mall in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the company is now ready to break the news with more facilities on the way in the Southern part of the capital city. Together with Sananbio (Fujian Sananbio Technology Co., Ltd.) Agroz is set to build farms on the Southside of Kuala Lumpur by the end of this year.
Gerard Lim
Forget the leafies; fruiting crops are stealing the show
With the new farms, Agroz and Sananbio will be growing leafy greens used for mixed salads, green corals, wild rockets, butterhead lettuce, and other varieties. As well as a broad variety of kale, given the hype around the crop in KL. Then, a wide range variety of herbs will top off the basket. Gerard shared that the reason behind this partnership with Sananbio is the crop diversity their systems offer for a wide variety of vegetables, including fruiting vegetables.
The location is not without a reason, given the great availability of logistics and distribution partners. As well as customers and businesses that are within a 45-minute range from the growing facilities. For now, the size of the farms is not yet determined, Gerard let us know. However, he is rather excited to share that there will be sustainability elements and renewables implemented, namely solar energy, rainwater harvesting, and striving for zero waste.
Scaling up through operating
As Gerard explains, Agroz's business model might be slightly different from others. "Enabling companies, investors, or individuals to get into farming, we will be the ones designing, building, supplying, and operating the solution. Whereas most are owned by partners or investors, we are moving into the part of licensing the technology. This allows us to quickly scale up in the region across Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, enabling our partners and customers to have better availability and consistency in their upstream supply of fresh produce. It's all about improving the supply chain and owning a part of the farm, the rest is where we come in. Agroz can have a small interest in some of the farms, while the farms are owned by business owners or investors through a joint venture arrangement."
Agroz integrates the Sananbio RADIX modules with Agroz's own blend of technologies including Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors, data analytics, automation, cloud, water management solution, nutrient fertigation systems, environmental control systems and 5G communications combined with agronomy and plant science knowledge to offer a highly digitalized and automated operations of the Agroz indoor vertical farms that grow clean, nutrient-rich, pesticide-free and the freshest vegetables daily.
"We're happy to cooperate and collaborate with Agroz, one of our key partners in Malaysia. Sananbio is always keen to continuously improve and innovate to deliver value to our clients and partners. We wish Agroz all the best in their future, and Sananbio looks forward to contributing our solutions and systems to support this growth," says Galen Zhou, Sananbio Global Sales Director.
Sananbio is a global supplier of vertical farming equipment and solutions, while Agroz is a growing CEA technology company that provides farming solutions to its business partners, farmers, and investors to design, build, operate, and manage Indoor Vertical Farms.
Agroz has been utilizing Sananbio's patented RADIX Hydroponic Modules within the Agroz CEA Indoor Vertical Farms over the past couple of years.
For more information:
Gerard Lim, Founder and CEO
Agroz Group
gerard@agrozgroup.com
https://agrozgroup.com