Ljusgårda in Tibro, Sweden delivers salad that is available to the trade within 24 hours after harvest. An important part of the cultivation is carried out in Constructor's Pallet Shuttle system.
Cultivation process - from seed to finished salad
Ljusgårda's cultivation plant uses only renewable energy sources with controlled air, light, and water in each step of the cultivation process. This creates the right temperature and humidity for each plant throughout the growing process.
In the first step of the cultivation process, the seeds are placed in a plug board (84 cultivation plugs / board) together with coconut fibre and peat. Then, 8 plug boards are placed in respective cultivation pallets. The seeds are then run into a heating room with high humidity to give the seeds the best possible start for growth. After a day in the heating room, the cultivation pallets are then transferred to Constructors Pallet Shuttle system.
Pallet Shuttle configuration
The shuttle system that Constructor has delivered to Ljusgårda consists of four separate deep stacking sections. Each section is 37 m deep and consists of 4 cultivation levels, in each Shuttle channel 43 cultivation pallets can be stored in depth. The system is handled by 2 Shuttle trolleys, which are moved between the channels when loading and unloading of plants takes place.
Between each racking bay there are service aisles that allow staff to physically reach each separate plant during the pre-cultivation period. Irrigation, drainage, and lighting are managed automatically and are integrated in the Shuttle system. The plants are provided with light and water for 18 hours per day, the rest of the time the plants rest.
The plants are placed in the Shuttle system for about 2 weeks and when they have reached about 8 cm, the Shuttle trolley transports out the cultivation pallets and then continues the cultivation in perforated vertical cultivation tubes. After another 2-3 weeks, it is time for harvest. When the salad is harvested, they are cut off from the cultivation tubes and then sent directly to the laundry and then further directly into the salad bag for immediate transport to the store.
Pallet Shuttle is a semi-automatic high-density system and is normally used for handling pallet goods, but in Ljusgårda's case it is not pallets but specially adapted cultivation pallets that are placed directly in the rack.
The movement of the cultivation pallets in the rack is handled exclusively by the Shuttle trolley and the pallets are only handled manually by truck when a cultivation batch is loaded or unloaded from the system.
Reliable and with integrated systems for light, water and drainage, Pallet Shuttle has been adapted to an extremely safe and good pre-cultivation system at Ljusgårda.
About Ljusgårda
Ljusgårda is an award-winning and innovative company that was started as a garage project in Sweden in 2017. Today, they have grown into a company with around 50 employees and run state-of-the-art indoor cultivation in a 7,000 sqm industrial premises. The premises have been renovated and upgraded to climate-certified indoor cultivation in the past year.
Ljusgårda's vision is to make Sweden more self-sufficient and less dependent on climate-damaging imports and we at Constructor, are very proud that they have chosen a Shuttle system from us for their cultivation process.
More information about Pallet Shuttle can be found here.