With Horto Professional by Tomatopiu Vertical Farming is automated and customisable
BORGOSATOLLO (Brescia), July 2022 – Hydroponics and vertical farming are increasingly important concepts for farmers and plant growers. However, meeting demand for sustainable, deseasonalised and high-quality produce all year-round often involves the tricky process of identifying an advanced, completely automated and customisable solution.
Tomatopiu has stepped up to the plate with the Horto Professional hydroponic greenhouse, which has made its debut in various European countries including Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Modular, completely automated and customisable, Horto Professional is designed to meet the needs of farmers, nursery owners and food and pharmaceutical companies and is made by Tomatopiu, a company highly specialised in systems for the indoor cultivation of herbs, salad leaves, shoots and baby greens.
Compared with other solutions on the market, the Horto Professional hydroponic greenhouse is industrialised from A to Z: every component, from the lighting systems to the management software, from the irrigation system to climate control and the cultivation tanks, is a patented innovation developed in-house by Tomatopiu. This enables the company to create a greenhouse tailored to the client’s production requirements and type of cultivation. Horto Professional also offers maximum automation thanks to dedicated software that manages all tools and processes, guaranteeing optimum coordination, with the possibility of receiving remote technical and agronomic assistance.
“Given the success and effectiveness of our indoor greenhouses for the Horeca sector – explains Daniele Rossi, founder and CEO of Tomatopiu – we have decided to apply and adapt the patented Tomatopiu technologies to large containers for industrial production. We believe that our product has no equal on the market: its simple management and the possibility of adapting it to different needs has already enabled us to secure major clients and projects that we will be announcing in the coming months.”
To successfully respond to the needs of professional farming, Horto Professional was developed together with agronomist Carlo Bignami, a horticulture expert with twenty years of experience in unheated greenhouses, technology and vertical farm, with important projects on salad leaves and baby greens on his CV.
“Daniele and I were on the same wavelength right away. He is strong on the technology and marketing part and I focus more on agronomy. – explains Bignami – What sets Tomatopiu apart is its goal of creating something really cool, unique and functional where technology is an integral part of the system designed to assist cultivation. Because of its desire to experiment and continuously identify new solutions, the company is dynamic and technologically advanced. As for Horto Professional, it has two plus points that set it apart from the competition: the possibility of creating customised products and remote assistance”.
Horto Professional containers can be positioned wherever there is a supporting surface and a connection to the electricity grid and water mains. Consumption is contained: just 6.5 kWh (24- hour average) and around 3000 litres of water a month at full load. For farmers, Horto Professional can benefit from Agriculture 4.0 tax credits and national and regional agriculture contributions.
Horto Professional is the Tomatopiu system for the completely automated industrial hydroponic cultivation of herbs, vegetables, mushrooms and other plants or cuttings. Inside the structure it creates the ideal microclimate for the growth of the plants, recreates the natural day-night cycle, supplies the right quantity of water and nutrients, and maintains the optimum temperature and level of humidity. The container can be positioned anywhere: a supporting surface and a connection to the electricity grid and water mains are all that’s needed.
Hydroponics is a sustainable and soilless cultivation method that uses a water-based solution to nourish the plants. In this way it avoids using the soil and, in closed and controlled environments, does not require insecticides, fungicides or weedkillers. Plants can be grown anywhere and at any time of year, regardless of the weather conditions, with optimum consistency in terms of quality. Up to 90% less water is required compared with traditional techniques.
For information and orders: info@tomatopiu.com
