It all started with a request from Netled to include RFID tags on gutters. Primo produces the most advanced plastic profiles in the world, including gutters for controlled environment agriculture. In close collaboration with Netled, they have developed an RFID-tagged gutter that comes ready for use on Vera® vertical farming industrial systems.
The gutters come with specifically spaced pre-drilled holes for pots, an ultrasound welded end cover, a drip nose, a green co-extrusion layer that reduces algae growth, the Netled logo and production date, and a pre-attached RFID tag.
Innovative ready-to-use gutters
The gutters are designed according to Netled’s specific requirements and specifications, and the RFID tag will allow growers to track individual gutters as they move through the Vera® vertical farming system.
“The gutters are the most intelligent in the world, and we are thrilled to be able to showcase them at Greentech Amsterdam alongside Netled. It is one thing to be innovative, but it is another to be able to show actual use cases at industrial scale. Netled’s Vera® vertical farming systems are a great example of how RFID technology can be implemented into gutters for production facilities.” says Janne Mäkisalo, Business Development Manager at Inter Primo.
A simple idea with big benefits
The RFID tags will allow growers to track the gutters, and subsequently the plants in them, as they move through the Vera® system.
“The RFID tag is a really simple idea, actually.” says Toni Ryhänen, Chief Technology Officer at Netled.
“The tags contain information about the type and number of plants, and the amount of time they spend in the Vera® system. Thanks to the tags, our customers will be able to recognize individual gutters in the Vera® vertical farming system and gather the above information about the plants. This will allow the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to collect this data as the gutters pass over the buffer table. This is very useful information for our customers in fine-tuning their own growing processes.
It’s a simple idea, but at industrial scale when you have thousands of gutters in the system and millions of plants being grown, the ability to automatically track gutters and gather information from the system is a big leap forward with significant benefits for our customers.
All our Vera® industrial systems will be equipped with RFID-tagged gutters”
Netled and Primo on stage at Greentech Amsterdam
Netled and Primo will both be exhibiting at Greentech Amsterdam on June 14th to 16th. You can find Netled at Stand 02.402 and Primo at Stand 02.319
The companies will be sharing the stage at the Crops Theater on Thursday June 16th at 12:45 – 1:15 pm and presenting on “Intelligent Vertical Farming – Key factors in making vertical farming business models successful”. In order to make your vertical farming business succeed, you need a sophisticated business model, functional production method, plus reliable and intelligent technology. Learn about these key factors via the presentation from the Director of Netled North America, Brent Parker. Brent will be joined by Joakim Häggblom, Sales Manager of Netled’s growing gutter supplier Inter Primo, who will offer a deeper dive into the technical attributes of their new RFID-tagged gutters. The presentations will be followed by an audience Q&A. The session is moderated by Riyana Zafira Razalee of Re-Nuble.
Primo is an international company that develops and produces extruded profiles for the medical industry, transportation, building, offshore, energy, white goods, power and lighting and for a broad range of other industries.
