Each 20’ fully insulated Growtainer has been substantially modified by the removal of the container doors, the installation of an end mounted man door and the installation of an insulated wall with door inside the container to create a separate utility area, epoxy flooring throughout and a climate-controlled production area. The utility area creates a barrier against climate fluctuations and prevents pest and disease contamination in the production chamber.
Each chamber is optimized for Micro Greens production with a vertical rack system which contains 5 vertical production levels. Each level contains 3 10” wide x 12’ long NFT Crop King Gutters for a total of 360 linear feet of production equaling a potential harvest of 108 “1020” growers trays per week. Each level contains 3 to 4 energy efficient crop-specific, full-spectrum LED fixtures for optimum growth.
Each Growtainer comes complete with an automatic Hydroponic system for water monitoring, automatic dosing and nutrient recirculation. The production chamber air conditioned and includes Humidistat controlled vents and hi-cfm Fans to maintain an even temperature and relative humidity for optimum growth. Each chamber comes equipped with an organic CO2 system. Increases in CO2 typically result in higher yields and increased growth and reproduction, provided other growth factors like light, and temperature are controlled.
Over the past 8 years CEA Advisors has designed and manufactured custom built 40’, 45’ and 53’ shipping containers which have been specifically modified to provide the optimum controlled environment for growing or researching a wide range of horticultural and agricultural products. Their custom built commercial Growtainers are in use worldwide for many different clients, including food manufacturers, growers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, researchers, government agencies, universities, food banks, schools and supermarkets.
"Unlike other container farm manufacturers in the market today, we have always avoided making any unrealistic claims about yield and profitability. Our results have consistently generated a higher yield in a shorter time than all conventional production methods", Glenn Behrman says. Recently they’ve developed a collaboration with Crop King, a manufacturer of Hydroponic systems to create an affordable, crop specific Growtainer to produce Micro Greens for sales to Chefs, restaurants, caterers, grocery retailers etc.
"We believe that even an inexperienced farmer, using our system can generate a substantial profit with a minimal investment. The system requires approximately 30 hours per week of labor for production and delivery, it’s modular so you can increase production as you increase sales and you can produce any of the hundreds of varieties of Micro Greens in demand by Chefs everywhere", Glenn adds.
The 20’ Growtainers for Micro Green Production are priced from $65,000 and are fully equipped and Plug & Play, all you need is a flat surface and utility hook ups, such as power and water, seeds, substrate and fertilizer and you’re in business. Based on our conservative calculations, a $65,000 investment can return as much as $50,000 per year in revenue, according to Glenn.