&Ever Middle East, a joint venture between Kuwait’s NOX Management and German company &ever, in partnership with SAP and Viessmann, has opened the first commercial indoor vertical farm in the Middle East.
Kuwait has previously relied on European and overseas imports for most of their leafy greens and herbs, and can now locally grow up to 250 varieties of greens and herbs using Dryponics technology.
The facility, with approximately 3,000 square metres growing (or farming) space, has a daily output capacity of up to 550 kg of salad, herbs, cresses and uses cutting-edge vertical farming methods that utilise 90% less water compared to traditional farming, 60% less fertilizer and zero pesticides.
“Previously, Kuwait’s restaurants imported all of our greens and herbs, mainly from Europe,” said Faisal AlMeshal, Director, Strategy and Business Development, NOX Management. “Our JV with &ever and the partnership with SAP and Viessmann on this indoor farm is enabling the local farming supply chain to save on costs and logistics, to minimise waste and to make a better choice for the planet. Our customers have enhanced experiences with tastier and fresher produce.”
This knowledge exchange complements Germany and Kuwait’s trade ties. Bilateral trade is €1.3 billion and Germany’s private sector has invested €14.6 billion in Kuwait, according to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.
“Germany and Kuwait – strong partners in politics but also in business,” said HE Stefan Möbs, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Kuwait. “I welcome the innovative business idea of German company &ever specifically here in Kuwait. Both countries are seeking new ways in difficult times. Even better to work together!”
The farm has partnered with Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions to develop highly efficient climatised rooms which are used in its indoor vertical farm. The technology is 40% more energy-efficient than other indoor vertical farming systems when it comes to energy use for climatisation.
&ever built its operating system, &ever Cloud, using the SAP business technology platform – SAP HANA in-memory platform and SAP Cloud Platform. Farmers can monitor, analyse and adjust hundreds of data points on plant health, airflow, light, carbon dioxide levels, humidity and temperature in real-time.
“Technology is the foundation for transforming customer experiences in restaurants and agricultural production in Kuwait, and for fostering diversified economic growth and sustainable agriculture worldwide,” said Andy Froemmel, Managing Director, SAP Kuwait. “Digitally transforming Kuwait’s agricultural sector supports New Kuwait 2035 goals and helps to foster the local innovation economy and job creation.”
Building on the global deployment capabilities of its key partners, &ever will scale its operations quickly and globally. “Our vision is to bring better tasting greens with high nutritional value to more and more people,” said Mark Korzilius, Founder of &ever.
Dr Henner Schwarz, CEO, &ever, added that: “We have an interesting pipeline of opportunities around the globe. We hope to be able to travel internationally again soon to get our next farms live as quickly as possible.”
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