At its newest expansion, Albion, N.Y.-based Intergrow Greenhouses has opened a 10-acre greenhouse, expected to produce more than 3 million pounds of fresh produce a year to serve the entire Eastern Seaboard, from the Northeast to the Southeast.
The company has been operating in the U.S. since 1998, always in New York state, since its European partners recognized this opportunity for greenhouse-grown produce, Intergrow president Dirk Biemans said in a news release.
“We are primed for successful growth here in New York,” he said. “With nearly 60% of the U.S. population only 24 hours from us, and growing consumer demand for local and domestically grown produce, we’ve got to be ready.”
More than 70% of the 350 employees at Intergrow are permanent residents of New York, according to the release.
“Labor is an extremely important part of our business model, if we can recruit, train and retain local labor it can yield huge advantages for us,” Biemans said in the release.
The new facility will be outfitted with HPS grow lights, adding to Intergrow’s winter offerings. The greenhouse’s diffused glass enables better light distribution and modern heating and fertigation systems.
However, several challenges and delays threatened the project from finishing on time.
“Ocean freight is crazy right now. Not only have prices increased, but there’s been a huge problem with on-time arrivals and customs issues,” Biemans said in the release.
Most of the project materials arrived prefabricated from Europe, which offers a lot of benefits, but the team and chosen suppliers were not quite ready for the logistical challenges in 2021, he said.
“However, we were able to pull through, overcoming those challenges, and working with the cards we were dealt. This project was successfully completed on time, putting us at a total of 105 acres under glass,” he said in the release.
