Urban Barns (URBF) launches worlds first commecial
Post# of 579
Urban Barns Foods Inc. (OTCQB: URBF, Stock Forum) marked the official launch Wednesday of what is billed as the world’s first commercial Cubic Farming operation at a converted tomato storage facility in Mirabel, Quebec.
The two-day grand opening ceremony is expected to be attended by about 170 invitees from the hotel and food retail industry, people who Urban Barns is hoping will be among its future customers.
The launch comes after Urban Barns recently closed a private placement financing of 21.4 million common shares at 2.34 cents a share, raising gross proceeds of $500,000.
The subscribers were financier Ned Goodman’s Dundee Agricultural Corp., which already held 40% of Urban Barns, and entrepreneur Jeremy Kendall, who is also a company director.
Urban Barns is working to develop patented technology that permits “controlled environment growing” of vegetables in urban environments, using mechanized modular growing units that can be stacked or aligned horizontally.
Rather than using conventional flat growing surfaces such as a greenhouse or a field, the Urban Barns technology uses the entire “cubic space” of a building or warehouse, hence the term “cubic farming.”
The opening ceremony near Montreal comes as the company is moving from the research and development phase into commercial production.
Dundee Agriculture is a unit of Ned Goodman’s Dundee Corp. (TSX: T.DC.A, Stock Forum). Kendall is Chairman of SunOpta Inc. (TSX: T.SOY, Stock Forum), a Toronto-based company that specializes in sourcing, processing and packaging of natural, organic and specialty food products.
Urban Barns Foods shares were unchanged at 5 cents on Wednesday, leaving a market cap of $11.5 million, based on 229.2 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is 5 cents and 1 cent.
“We are very excited,’’ said Richard Groome, President and CEO of Urban Barns.
The launch party is being held in a 16,000-square-foot former tomato storage facility that marks phase one of the company’s rollout plan. That facility is currently being used to grow six different types of lettuce, as well as Italian and Thai Bazil as well as micro greens.
The company is also planning to add additional growing space in the Mirabel area, while scouting for facilities in the United States desert, likely in Arizona, California or Nevada.
“We want to get the kinks out of our system before going to a foreign country,’’ Groome explained.
Meanwhile, Urban Barns is gearing up for the “imminent announcement” that it is selling product to 5-star hotel chains in Quebec, Groome added. “We have got our delivery van and we are ready to go,’’ he said.
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/news/newswire/2014/...gsZzfKb.99