Genie® Scissor Lifts In Copenhagen, Denmark, For The Largest Indoor Vertical Farm In Europe

Design quality, safe operation and ease of use convinced Nordic Harvest A/S in its choice of nine Genie® scissor lifts for the installation, cultivation and harvest of its plants

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A producer of vegetables and herbs, Nordic Harvest A/S grows and harvests its plants in a 14-storey farm over on area of nearly 4,950 m2 at a stone’s throw away from Copenhagen Markets on the outskirts of Denmark’s capital. This makes Nordic Harvest one of the largest and most efficient indoor vertical farms in Europe whose production serves one of largest markets in Copenhagen, where all the city’s wholesalers meet.

As a first step, five Genie® GS™-2632 electric scissor lifts helped build and set up the structures hosting the plants on the indoor farm’s 14 storeys at about 9 m (26 ft 3 in) height by installing cultivation trays. This stage was followed by the addition of four Genie® GS™-2646 electric scissor lifts that joined the team to carry employees between the rows of plants, enabling them to check their healthy growth and estimate their optimum harvest time while working in the best possible conditions. All nine Genie scissor lift units were sold by Jøma Lift Teknik, Authorized Genie® Distributors in Denmark.

Nordic Harvest’s Sales Director, Flemming Dyring explains why his company chose Genie scissor lifts:

Design quality and proven reliability

"Before making our decision, we took the opinion of our Taiwanese partners who recommended Genie scissor lifts to us for their design quality and proven reliability to effectively complete our assigned tasks: construction of the cultivation structures and control of the seedings and harvest."

Safety of operation and ease of use

"The scissor lifts had to provide a high level of stability for safe work. In addition, their handling had to be as easy as possible, including intuitive controls and the possibility of instant troubleshooting, all of which met our requirements."

Comfortable work at the right height

"For our work, a minimum working height of 8.80 m (28 ft 9 in), a comfortable working space and high manoeuvrability in small spaces were imperatives. With their respective 9.93 m (32 ft 5 in) and 9.80 m (32 ft 1 in) working heights, standard 91 cm (3 ft) long basket extension, compact dimensions and zero turning radius, the Genie GS-2632 and GS-2646 scissor lift models provided our employees with what they needed to work at ease in tight spaces at the right height. As a result, both models met our requirements perfectly and became an obvious choice. It was essential for us to be able to count on them during the development and harvest of the plants and we are extremely satisfied with the performance of these machines."

Director of Jøma Lift Teknik, Jørgen Martinsen provides insights:

"Nordic Harvest A/S is a new customer who contacted us specifically requesting Genie scissors lifts. With the models in this range, you have a robust and versatile machine that adapts to many applications where ease of use and performance must be top notch.

As far as Nordic Harvest’s application is concerned, the Genie GS-2646 model is placed at the end of rows. Thanks to a string system, the culture trays can be drawn to the end of the shelving and then hoisted on the platform. This model was chosen because it offers more space and capacity (454 kg / 1,000 lbs) to carry the trays of seedlings.

Additionally, Nordic Harvest A/S signed a service contract with us for all their machines including a preventive maintenance clause to ensure that they can count on the machines every day as part of the control and harvest process.

For their future needs, Jøma Lift Teknik is ready to offer Nordic Harvest A/S the very latest Genie E-Drive electric scissor lift models that are even quieter and work even longer hours on a single battery charge thanks to their ultra-efficient and maintenance-free asynchronous drive motors.

This is a first step towards the construction of new vertical farms in Europe and we will look forward to continuing our partnership with Nordic Harvest A/S in an eco-responsible and sustainable approach," concludes Jørgen Martinsen, Sales Director, Jøma Lift Teknik.