Pipp Horticulture

This interview details Pipp Horticulture, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Curtis Dadian, Director of Business Development of Pipp Horticulture.

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What is the origin story of Pipp Horticulture?

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Pipp Horticulture is a division of Pipp Multiple Storage Systems, a 50-year-old business based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pipp manufactures, sells, services, and installs high-density mobile shelving systems for the retail industry, used by Nike, Nordstroms, Apple, and many others.

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In mid-2017, Pipp decided to explore the indoor cultivation and horticulture space. We believe that there is a problem that we can solve in this industry, and we are committed to making a difference. We are both cannabis and general agriculture solutions providers. We believe that our future lies in general agriculture. Cannabis has been our past, present, and future. We believe that both of these markets are important and that we can help both of them.

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It is a high-cost proposition to develop an indoor/vertical farm, and optimizing the facility is the objective to optimize efficiencies, production, and economies of scale. The products enable the cultivator to increase revenue without increasing overall operating expenses or facility footprint proportionally.

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‍What are some of the biggest challenges facing your team in the future?

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Our main challenge is to properly respect, handle and treat all incoming requests, which is a great problem. There are only a few players in the mobile vertical racking space. We respond to all requests and try to share what we've learned from them. We strive to respond our best with quality.

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Properly serving requests and learning together with customers and prospects is key to getting the most effective information exchange.

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Secondly, we are trying to meet GMP and EU standards. GMP for European marketplace standards provides a product that's not going to inhibit our client from meeting those standards. Products are not certified GMP, but facilities are, and we want to enable our clients to meet those requirements. This requires constant learning, innovation, and improvement, which takes up a lot of energy.

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What is unique about Pipp Horticulture compared to competitors?

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First, Pipp has been in the mobile racking space for a long time: over 50 years, so we have the true expertise to execute mobile racking technology.

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Second, Pipp is a company that is constantly innovating. We have cultivators on staff, which allows us to have a deep understanding of the business and how to build a grow room that is optimized for cultivators. We understand the problems that our customers face, and we work to solve them through our product innovation.

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For example, we brought the first interactive airflow system to mobile racks, the first elevated catwalk system, and the first track-free system to indoor CEA facilities.

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How do you measure the impact of your company so far? (Revenue, Employees, Customer Quantity, Production Volume) etc?

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So far we have been heavily focused on Cannabis, however our goals are to expand outside of this area in the future. Presently we have about five microgreen installations in the US and are actively onboarding new customers in this area right now.

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On the cannabis side, we have installed over 3,000 cultivation rooms in the past six years. We also offer a dry room solution, which can be used in addition to our cultivation rooms. We provide everything needed for storage, including clone rooms, veg rooms, mother rooms, flower rooms, and dry rooms. We are a privately held company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and we have over 200 employees.

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As far as our production capability, we have a 240,000 square foot factory and distribution center in Michigan. We ship thousands of systems a year to the retail market, which is more than any other manufacturer in North America.‍

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Finally, we have been active in the acquisition space to ensure that our offerings to our customers continue to evolve.

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In 2018, we acquired Greenhouse Industries, a leading manufacturer of greenhouses and growing equipment. In 2020, we acquired Vertical Air Solutions, a provider of ventilation and climate control systems for greenhouses. And in 2021, we acquired GGS, a Canadian company that manufactures greenhouses and rolling Ag benches. These acquisitions have allowed us to expand our product offerings and services, and to better serve our customers.

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We originally received requests from greenhouses for the veg stage of their cultivation. This is because greenhouses were typically single-level applications, and the veg room was not interested in going multi-level as we do. However, with the acquisition of GGS, we can now meet the single-level request and take care of the entire facility, not just the veg room. These acquisitions have been a valuable addition to our business.

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What have you learned that you wish you knew when you joined the company?

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I came from the racking industry and joined this company six years ago. I started just before the company moved into the horticultural space, and I have helped to drive that division for the business, so there have been a lot of learnings.

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First, when I started working in the commercial indoor multi-level LED application industry, it was a completely new experience for me. I had to learn about the optimal layouts for racking structures in growth facilities, the ideal plant density, and how all of these factors affected the rest of the facility. I also had to help my clients learn about these things. It was a lot of work, but I was able to gain a lot of knowledge and experience.

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Additionally, I learned that you need good partners to advance in the industry faster. One standout partner that comes to mind is Fluence Bioengineering, based in Austin, Texas, known for their leadership in the field. They recognized the importance of having an efficient racking partner to expand their business. 

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Pipp Horticulture?

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The easiest way to learn more about PIPP Horticulture is through our website. Our website is https://pipphorticulture.com

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People can also follow us on Social Media

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Facebook

LinkedIn

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

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