Beijing’s HortiPolaris greenhouse operation begins full-scale vegetable growing

BEIJING, China: Beijing’s HortiPolaris greenhouse operation has begun full-scale vegetable growing at its newly built greenhouse complex.

Last year, greenhouse builder Prins Group from the Netherlands completed 3.3 ha  greenhouses for HortiPolaris, the agribusiness branch of construction giant BUCG.

The company is split into 2.2 ha for tomato growing, 2,000 m2 for hydroponic lettuce production and an additional  2,000 m2 for young plant production.

Protected cropping is here to stay in China. A megacity with approximately 21 million inhabitants, Beijing sees an increasing demand for environmentally friendly grown fresh produce.

BUCG opted for Prins Group, because of the company’s expertise in realizing turnkey greenhouse projects around the world.

HortiPolaris is unique in many ways. It includes a propagation area with ebb and flow benches, lighting and cooling system. The tomato greenhouse is fitted with double energy screens. As the new company’s efforts in the field of greenhouse automation and sustainability have raised the interest of the big audience, the company decided to reserve space for a demonstration greenhouse.

The company’s manager, Mr. Dan, has several years of experience in tomato growing in the Netherlands, which helped him to choose tomato as his main crop. Meanwhile Dan also sees huge potential for lettuce because of China’s changing eating habits. That’s why Dan travelled two times to Prins USA to learn more about the advanced fully automated lettuce system. HortiPolaris is mainly targeting the high-end and mid-end of the market.