Project background
A farming business wanted to transition from small-scale trials to a semi-commercial NFT rack system capable of producing leafy greens on a weekly harvest cycle. The footprint had to suit a rented warehouse with limited ceiling height.
Challenge
Designing racks strong enough to support saturated channels yet light enough for manual reconfiguration. Ensuring uniform flow across all channels, preventing dead zones, and integrating dosing, lighting, and ventilation under a single controller.
Approach & solution
We engineered a four-tier rack with optimized channel slope and return manifolds validated through flow testing. A central control cabinet housed the PLC, dosing pumps, and safety relays. A touchscreen HMI exposed recipe selection, alarms, and manual overrides to operators. Energy-efficient LED fixtures were specified per growth stage.
Results & benefits
The system entered weekly production within weeks of commissioning. Flow uniformity was confirmed across all channels, and the client reported a significant reduction in labor hours per harvest compared with their prior setup.
