Toshiba Starts Veggie Production at its New Plant Factory
The Toshiba Corporation is entering a new industry, fresh produce! What is this? 2001: A Space Odyssey? The cast of characters include lettuce, baby leaf greens, spinach, mizuna and a host of extras.
Adding a new dimension to its healthcare business, Toshiba is starting production of pesticide-free, long-life vegetables in a closed-type plant factory, that operates under almost aseptic condition. The plant factory is currently under construction at a facility in Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture and will begin shipping in the second quarter of FY2014, according to a press release. Annual sales are estimated at 300 million yen.
Toshiba plans to promote sales to supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants, and hopes to meet market needs by offering functional vegetables rich in polyphenols and vitamin C, achieved by careful control of the growth environment. In order to increase sales in this new business, Toshiba is also considering construction a large-scale plant factory outside Japan, and the sale of equipment for plant factory applications within FY2014.
Promoting good health and a better living environment is integral to the company’s efforts to focusing its attention on improving food, water and air quality. Building on its global presence in CT and other diagnostic imaging systems, Toshiba is promoting a healthcare business that combines technologies and know-how from across Toshiba Group to support the development of a society where people can lead healthier and happier lives.
The plant facility will be equipped with closed growing systems that integrate state-of-the-art technologies: fluorescent lighting with an output wavelength optimized for vegetable growth; air-conditioning systems that maintain constant temperature and moisture level; remote monitoring systems to track growth; and sterilization systems for packing materials. The production management system will be based on that utilized for semiconductor device production.
Plant factories grow vegetables in close to sterile conditions in almost germ-free cleanrooms, helping to ease the concerns of retailers by minimizing the entry of germs and the damage that they can do while extending the freshness and shelf-life of vegetables.
The Toshiba Group is promoting "New Concept Innovation" in order to create new forms of value by combining wide-ranging technologies not only for agriculture but also for many other fields.
The produce world has been experiencing such growth in industry overlap. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see what comes next...even if it reminds me of a 1968 Stanley Kubrick film.
The Toshiba Group
