An indoor farming company co-founded by Elon Musk's brother expects the first harvest from its new Kenosha facility to be ready later this spring.
Hydroponic growing technology startup Square Roots announced in January it opened its third and largest location in Kenosha. The facility has been hiring, undergoing construction and testing its systems but isn't yet operational for customers, Square Roots director of communications John Kell said.
When it's fully up and running, the Kenosha facility is expected to employ 25 people, Kell added. The company as a whole has more than 100 employees.
Co-founded in 2016 by Tobias Peggs and Kimbal Musk, Square Roots has expanded quickly through a strategic partnership with Gordon Food Service, one of the largest food distributors in North America. Earlier this month, the startup announced it opened a fourth facility in Ohio.
Square Roots operates software-controlled, cloud-connected hydroponic growing systems that it says use 95% less water than conventional field farms. The facilities are built within vertically stacked upcycled shipping containers to reduce the impact on the land, according to the company.
The Kenosha facility is located at 10901 38th Street, near the Gordon Food Service distribution center just east of I-94. The company said the location positions it to reach consumers in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas.
Kimbal Musk also owns Boulder, Colorado-based The Kitchen Restaurant Group, which has restaurants in Boulder, Denver and Chicago, and the youth-focused healthy food nonprofit Big Green. He's a board member for Tesla and SpaceX and serves as executive chairman of Square Roots.
In addition to its Kenosha and Ohio locations, Square Roots operates two commercial-scale indoor farms in Michigan, and a facility in Brooklyn, New York, which also houses the company’s center for plant science and research and development.
The company said its network of indoor farming facilities is designed to create a shorter supply chain between people and their food, reducing food miles and minimizing food waste.
“Our partnership with Gordon Food Service, combined with our scalable smart-farm technology platform, means Square Roots is able to rapidly open a number of new indoor farms this year,” Peggs said in an April 5 statement.
The company's produce is available in more than 250 retail locations around the country, including Whole Foods Market, Fresh Thyme Market and Meijer.
Wisconsin-based hydroponic growing companies include Green Bay's Fork Farms, which is backed by venture capital firm Titletown Tech, and indoor farming startup Hundred Acre in Milwaukee's Century City Business Park.
