CambridgeHOK

CambridgeHOK is a dynamic and forward-thinking group of horticultural engineering specialists, dominating the vertical farming, greenhouse and energy sectors. From purpose-built headquarters and manufacturing facilities in east Yorkshire, the company is at the forefront of the industry. Joint MDs Louis Bradley and Patrick Harte explained more to Hannah Barnett.

Acompany like CambridgeHOK is only as strong as its people. To do what it does requires an experienced team of designers, structural engineers, mechanical heating, cooling and ventilation specialists, computer control developers, electricians, project managers, fabricators, and installers.

This pool of talent has proved essential over the last 20 years, as the company transitioned from specialising in glasshouses to offering a full turnkey solution and placing itself at the forefront of an expansion of the horticulture industry. CambridgeHOK now offers services ranging from civil design, structural engineering, electrical maintenance and irrigation.

“If you give us a field, we’ll give you something that can grow a crop,” Patrick Harte, Joint MD, explained. “30 years ago, we would have just put a glasshouse over the top and added some heat, on a slightly larger scale than you might have at home.

“Today, we use very precise heating or cooling systems to perfectly manage the temperature and humidity. We add in high tech irrigation systems to give the right amount of water and nutrients to every single plant in the same way – across a large site. We’re talking about trying to water, control climate and perfectly grow hundreds of thousands – if not millions, of plants at any one time.”

Background

The company was founded in 1955 by a tomato grower. It moved to East Yorkshire in the 1990s and into the vertical farming space in 2011, during the early days of the

CAMBRIDGEHOK I PROFILE

industry. Since 2021, CambridgeHOK has been part of the Atrium Agri group, which has helped the company meet the economies of scale its projects now require.

“The industry is growing, and the market is consolidating,” said Louis Bradley, Joint MD. “We made the decision to be part of a larger group because it helps us maintain our position and continue to serve our customers. The projects are getting larger, and the investments are getting bigger.

“The pace of innovation in horticulture is moving rapidly in comparison to more established industries. We never stand still in this business. What we’re doing this year could easily be completely different in five years.”

CambridgeHOK is now constructing sites of up to 100,000sqm. “If we went back 30 years, we would call 4,000sqm a big site,” said Mr Harte.

Turnover has trebled over the last decade, and the company has several projects worth up to £40 million in the pipeline.

Big contracts

In 2020 CambridgeHOK took on its first £10 million-plus project, building a six-hectare glasshouse for Dyson Farming, the UK’s largest privately owned farming business. The contract was recently extended to add a 4.7-hectare extension to the strawberry growing glasshouse in Lincolnshire.

“Dyson was an interesting one, because we designed the first site with no real brief, other than that they wanted a strawberry greenhouse powered by their waste

energy,” Mr Harte explained. “We’ve got people in our team who are former growers and understand operating sites, so we can design them in the way we would want to run them.

“It’s not just about building a structure. We’re here to help them build a business. There’s a lot of mathematics involved in sizing packing areas, working out how many strawberries to produce and things like that, and we do all the calculations. This means our customers don’t need experts who understand it all; we help fill that role for them.”

On the Dyson site, CambridgeHOK has employed cutting-edge technology and advanced growing systems to lengthen the British strawberry season, growing from early spring into late autumn.

“In normal construction, like when building a factory, it’s the shell that’s made,” Mr Harte said. “and a different company provides the equipment that produces the goods. But our structure is integral to growing the product. If we get that bit right, we give the customer the best chance they can to deliver a good crop. Clearly, they still need to do a good job running it. But that’s probably more distinctive in our industry than any other; we give them the engine to grow the crop.

“We are an integrator of technology, as well as a construction company.”

Innovative technologies

CambridgeHOK now automates much of the day-to-day operations on its larger sites, utilising robots in its glasshouses to move things more efficiently.

“It’s sort of a horticultural equivalent to Amazon’s warehouse technology,” Mr Harte said. “We no longer bend down to pick plants out of soil, we elevate them. And we add CO2 to enrich the environment for the plant, so we can produce a much higher yield, with a lower input from people.”

The company also offers innovative solutions to preserve water in its glasshouses, using a lagoon to store the excess that is caught on the roof. Water captured in times of plenty is recirculated and reconditioned for use in times of scarcity.

These innovations have proven ever useful as the company takes on more projects in emerging markets, such as the medical cannabis sector. CambridgeHOK recently built a pharmaceutical grade growing facility for a customer.

“That was an interesting technical challenge,” Mr Harte said, “because the environment must be kept to a completely controlled standard to create a repeatable crop. An inconsistent supply of medicine, in quality or content, will not effectively treat a condition: so, we needed to build facilities that can grow those crops to a very precise standard.”

Sustainable relationships

Undertaking bespoke design projects helps the company to maintain its long-lasting supplier relationships. CambridgeHOK can apply the same principles from one site to another, although often with a different outcome.

“Because we are integrating technologies, we need to work with suppliers who are constantly innovating,” said Mr Harte.

“We usually maintain strong relationships at senior levels – often owners or MDs. I spend a significant amount of time with our suppliers, trying to understand new technologies and keeping up with developments in the market.”

In 2022, the company completed a project after 11 years. While that was an exceptionally long timeframe, projects do usually take several years of diligent work and dedication, meaning CambridgeHOK cultivates similarly strong partnerships with its customers.

“Our customers value the fact it’s not a transactional relationship,” Mr Bradley said. “We are personally invested; we have been there from the first hand-drawn sketch. When you build that type of relationship with a customer – and you really care about a project – that leads to future business.”

Moving through the stages of a horticultural project with a customer is indeed one of the most exciting parts of running a business like CambridgeHOK, Mr Harte concluded: “I’m often in the first meeting with the client, and there might be an idea on a scrap of paper. Then fast forward three years, and we’ve built this massive thing: and there can be obstacles, but it all comes together.” n