Michigan growing-rack producer acquires ventilation company for optimum air flow in vertical cultivation

Pipp Horticulture, a Michigan-based producer of multi-level mobile cultivation systems for the indoor farming and horticulture industries, announced Friday that has purchased Vertical Air Systems.

Headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, VAS manufactures air circulation systems and related products for the global indoor vertical farming industry.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“In 2017, when our ‘first of its kind’ airflow technology couldn’t fit into standard mobile racking configurations, Pipp Horticulture was prepared and willing to customize their system in order to accept ours,” said VAS founder James Cunningham.

According to Pipp CEO Craig Umans, the company will retain VAS employees as part of the deal. Umans said VAS has been an “integral part” of Pipp’s business in recent years.

“The acquisition of VAS continues our mission of expanding our product offering to better serve the vertical farming industry,” Umans said.

Pipp Horticulture, based in Grand Rapids, is a division of Pipp Mobile Storage Systems — backed by Canadian private equity firm Novacap. The company is privately held and specializes in “optimizing operational spaces” for cultivation, post-harvest, manufacturing and distribution facilities with vertical and mobile rack and cart systems.