What is the story of KUBO and what are your primary activities at the moment within the world of greenhouses?
KUBO is a third-generation family company, having started in 1945. I was raised in the environment of KUBO and its people. When I graduated from university and entered the company, KUBO had just started to grow internationally. What I like the most is that we are still at the beginning of development and innovation, having still so much to achieve.
We are a glass greenhouse builder. We invented the Ultra-Clima, semi-closed greenhouse, which allows the growth of high-quality products in any climate in the world. Essentially, we can design a greenhouse for any global location and are able to combine a suite of technologies, and are an end to end service provider.
We invest heavily in three main aspects: autonomous growing, reducing energy consumption (we have already achieved considerable reduction), and CO2 reduction, without reducing output.
Which countries are you currently present in and where do you see the highest demand at the moment?
Our prime markets are the United States, Canada and Western Europe. We also have an office in China, which is a really promising market because it is currently transitioning from field farming into CEA (controlled environment agriculture). The Middle East is an equally growing market, especially with its increase in population and desire to achieve food independence. We also have presence in places like Kazakhstan, Japan and South Korea. Overall, our business entails considerable capital investments, which means that countries need to be economically and politically stable to accommodate it.
How do you address the challenge of energy consumption that CEA agriculture often struggles with? Do you see vertical farming overcoming it and reaching profitability?
Energy consumption is indeed a key topic in agriculture, and recent challenges such as the war upon Ukraine has accentuated its importance. In this respect we carry a major advantage, as our greenhouses are made of glass and mostly rely on the sun's energy. Photosynthesis requires sun, CO2 and water. When there is less sun, extra lighting can be incorporated, of course, however it remains the primary energy provider. Regarding vertical farming, in my opinion it will struggle to reach maturity and is still reliant on large amounts of energy and resources. It has not reached profitability yet, and I do not see it doing so anytime soon. Nevertheless, it could function for the germination stage of agriculture, with a few changes implemented.
How do you envisage indoor farming can change the horticulture space?
In time, it will become possible to grow more and more products in greenhouses. Moreover, CEA allows us to grow between 20 to 35 times more produce per square meter than outdoor farming. If you let that figure sink it, you quickly realize the massive long term efficiency it can bring. More specifically, it would reduce our need to create more farmland, which in turn would help alleviate deforestation and help with other associated environmental concerns. I believe in CEA as a crucial solution to many of the issues we face today.
What are your main goals for KUBO for the next couple of years in the context of CEA’s growing importance?
Our objective is to eventually build greenhouses that are energy neutral, CO2 neutral or that have a negative CO2 consumption. While doing that, we expect to grow as a company to serve the world in achieving its food and sustainability goals, and keep carefully expanding to new geographies.
