On July 31, 2014, Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Takumi Ubagai) established KAITEKI Fresh Australia Pty Ltd. Through this subsidiary, it is going to launch operations in all stages from production to sales of safe and secure vegetables grown in a hybrid greenhouse system there. The company has built a greenhouse with an area of about 5,000 square meters in the Australian state of Victoria. It plans to begin selling leaf vegetables harvested at this greenhouse to upscale Australian supermarkets in the spring of 2015.

The frequent droughts and serious water shortages in Australia present major issues in the aspect of agricultural production. Under these circumstances, The KAITEKI Institute, Inc., a research organ of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, and Victoria State Government concluded a memorandum for research on water-saving methods of agriculture in March 2011. This was followed by the construction of a hybrid greenhouse system (hereinafter referred to as “the hybrid greenhouse”) on a lot (measuring about 600 square meters) on a state agricultural experiment station in Knoxfield in April 2013, and the start of trial sales of leaf vegetables in April 2014, after verification tests. The hybrid greenhouse combines “Nae-terrace^TM”*1, a completely closed type artificial light seedling production system developed by Mitsubishi Plastics Agri Dream Co., Ltd., and “Napperland^TM”*2, a hydroponic system for leaf vegetable crops. It enables stable, year-round supply of leaf vegetables based on water-saving production without use of pesticides, for higher levels of safety and peace of mind.

 The spinach, rucola (rocket), and other leaf vegetables grown at the hybrid greenhouse were rated as highly as premium quality vegetables such as those organically grown in open fields and sold in upscale supermarkets in the area. Judging that the business therefore could be viable, the company invested a total of about 1 billion yen to establish KAITEKI Fresh Australia Pty Ltd as a wholly-owned subsidiary on July 31, 2014. The new company will run the large-scale hybrid greenhouse system by itself, and perform the whole sequence of processes from production to sales. It is slated to begin selling to upscale supermarkets in the spring of 2015.
 The Mitsubishi Plastics Group has been selling cultivation systems for greenhouses in Japan and China. Mitsubishi Plastics intends to develop business in production and sale of hybrid greenhouse  vegetables installed with these systems, toward the further aims of branding, and developing global business in, high-value-added leaf vegetables grown without pesticides.

 The project for sale of vegetables grown at the hybrid greenhouse system in Australia has won the backing of Peter Ryan, Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development in Victoria. More specifically, Mr. Ryan gave high marks to the company’s water-saving technology for cultivation without agricultural chemicals and the project’s effects for creating jobs. He also provided staunch support for its siting. Similarly, Peter Walsh, Minister for Agriculture and Food Security in Victoria, offered praise for the project, commenting that Victoria had a strong record of producing safe and high quality agricultural products, and that scientists were confident this new method of growing leafy green vegetables offered an environmentally friendly way of boosting production. “This could potentially revolutionize the way the horticulture industry cultivates vegetables and will contribute to the Victorian Coalition Government's goal of doubling food and fibre production by 2030,” he said.

 Initially, the company will sell its vegetables mainly in the area of major cities such as Melbourne and Sydney. At the same time, it is going to promote the development of analogous business in newly emerging economies in Southeast Asia, including Singapore and Thailand.
The Mitsubishi Plastics Group is working for the spread of next-generation agribusiness for supply of safe, secure, and high-quality vegetables, in keeping with our aspiration to help make the KAITEKI*3 society advocated by the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group a reality.

*1 A facility for production of hardy seedlings of uniform quality in a closed place within a short period of time, with automatic control of temperature, light irradiation, watering, and other factors.
*2 A system for cultivation of leaf vegetables through circulation of fluid produced by dissolving nutriments in water.
*3 A state of genuine sustainability that is pleasant and comfortable not only for people but also for society and the earth.

 

[Outline of the new company]
Name:  KAITEKI Fresh Australia Pty Ltd
Establishment:  July 31, 2014
Location:  6/450 Princess Highway, Noble Park, Victoria 3174, Australia
Representative directors:  Katsutoshi Ogihara, President & Chief Executive Officer
                                    Shoji Yamaguchi, Corporate Director & Chief Operating Officer
Number of employees:  10 (planned as of April 2015)
Paid-in capital:  AUD9M (about JPY850M)
Shareholders:  Mitsubishi Plastics 100%
Line of Business:  Production and sale of safe and secure vegetables grown without agricultural chemicals in a solar-powered plant factory

 

 

[Photos] 

   

  Napperland^TM, the hydroponic cultivation                              Product packages
            system for leaf vegetables

 

 

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