Indoor Harvest, Corp., through its brand name Indoor Harvest™, is a
design build contractor, developer, marketer and direct-seller of
commercial grade aeroponic and hydroponic fixtures and supporting
systems for use in urban Controlled Environment Agriculture and Building
Integrated Agriculture. The Company is pleased to provide an operational
recap of 2013 and 2014 as well as guidance for 2015.
Aeroponic roots by Indoor Harvest Corp (Photo: Business Wire)
A Recap of 2013 and 2014
2014 proved to be a pivotal year for the Company as we managed to
achieve several major milestones. The biggest was being the first
Company having a possible ancillary business model for cannabis to go
public directly by filing a Form S-1 Registration Statement with the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") rather than a public shell
reverse merger. Our Registration Statement went effective by operation
of law on November 7, 2014.
On January 15, 2015, we were assigned by FINRA the ticker symbol INQD
which will allow our common stock to be quoted and traded in the market
for unlisted securities on the over-the-counter market. We will be
applying and seeking quotation on OTC Markets Group's Venture
Marketplace, OTCQB in the near future.
On November 26, 2014, we filed our first quarterly report as a fully
reporting Company with the SEC. This report and other information filed
by us with the SEC are available at the web site maintained by the SEC
at http://www.sec.gov.
We began conducting initial research for a new type of aeroponic design
in late 2011. In 2013, we completed three technology pilots and provided
proof of concept on a modular aeroponic system by growing a variety of
leafy lettuce and basil. On May 15, 2013, we filed a provisional
application for patent with the United States Patent and Trademark
Office to extend protection of our invention and subsequently filed a
non-provisional application for patent on May 15, 2014. Our application
was published on November 20, 2014 as US-2014-0338261-A1, a "Modular
aeroponic system and related methods." We are currently patent pending.
Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist
environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium (known as
geoponics). Aeroponic culture differs from both conventional hydroponics
and in-vitro (plant tissue culture) growing. Unlike hydroponics, which
uses water as growing medium and essential minerals to sustain plant
growth, aeroponics is conducted without a growing medium. Because water
is used in aerponics to transmit nutrients, it is sometimes considered a
type of hydroponics.
Our aeroponic technology is the first fixture based system that allows
configuration for both low pressure and high pressure operation and can
be operated both drain to waste, or recycled. The system also uses a
modular lid and internal manifold design that allows complete custom
ability for a wide range of cultivars and plant spacing.
On September 18, 2013, we entered into a material transfer agreement
with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab ("MIT Media
Lab") to provide aeroponic system components for MITCityFarm. The
MITCityFarm project is part of MIT Media Lab's City Science Initiative.
We have been responsible for providing technical assistance and
materials as a "Technical Systems Adviser" to MITCityFarm. We originally
provided MITCityFarm with a scaled down prototype version of our larger
aeroponic design as part of their initial pilot. After almost a year of
using the initial system we were tasked with building a larger platform
for MITCityFarm's growing research. The new platform included both
hydroponic and aeroponic systems. The new platform was installed on
September 8, 2014 and has since grown a wide variety of cultivars to
include broccoli, strawberries, lettuces, basil, kale and a variety of
herbs. Information about MITCityFarm, its research and open Ag Project
can be found at the following link:
http://mitcityfarm.media.mit.edu/
On December 18, 2014, we entered into a Cannabis Production Pilot
Agreement with Tweed Marijuana Inc., a TSX Venture Exchange listed
company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Tweed Inc. and Tweed Farms
Inc. (formerly Prime1 Construction Services Corp.) which are licensed
producers of medical cannabis in Canada. The principal activities of
Tweed are the production and sale of cannabis through its wholly owned
subsidiaries out of Tweed Inc.'s facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario and
Tweed Farms Inc.'s facility in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario as regulated
by the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations.
The Pilot Project will test the production of Cannabis using an
aeroponic system designed by Indoor Harvest. The Pilot Project will make
a record of the growth rate, phytocannabinoid production, water usage,
fertilizer usage and labor using the aeroponic system(s) provided by
Indoor Harvest. Upon conclusion of the pilot, Tweed will have the option
to request design build services. Indoor Harvest would be provided a 10
year exclusive manufacturing contract on any approved designs and both
parties would share certain intellectual property rights.
As of September 30, 2014 we had accumulated a deficit of $526,734 during
our development stage. Our total stockholders' equity stood at $411,907.
Since inception, our primary focus has been developing, testing and
refining our technology and methods. Satisfied that our technology is
now ready for commercial use, we are currently in the process of tooling
up for commercial production. We will be unveiling our initial designs
at the Indoor Ag-Con on March 31 - April 1, 2015 in Las Vegas. More
information about the upcoming Indoor Ag-Con can be found at http://indoor.ag/
Guidance for 2015
Since the start of this year, we have been constructing a prototype
aeroponic mobile research lab based on our modular aeroponic system. The
lab will be used as part of the initial Cannabis Pilot with Tweed. The
data and information yielded in this pilot will be used towards
designing a large scale commercial platform specifically for cannabis
cultivation. Tweed is under no obligation to use our designs, or
purchase equipment from us. Tweed has graciously agreed to provide us
space to conduct research in their state-of-the-art facility and we are
providing our mobile research labs free of charge. At the conclusion of
the first phase of the pilot project, should the results impress, Tweed
will be given exclusive rights to the subsequently developed commercial
system in all jurisdictions outside the United States. We will retain
exclusive rights to the system within the United States. We will also be
given exclusive manufacturing rights for all systems manufactured for
Tweed for a period of 10 years.
Chad Sykes, the founder and CEO of Indoor Harvest stated, "We are
extremely excited to have been given the opportunity to work with what
we believe to be one of the best brands producing and selling medical
grade cannabis under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations in
Canada. With medical cannabis heavily regulated and legal under federal
law in Canada, we felt it was the best place to conduct our research at
this time. We look forward to proving our technology to Tweed as well as
collaborating with their amazing team of researchers. Based upon our
experience with our system, we're hoping to show a large reduction in
the amount of water used, a 40%-60% reduction in plant nutrients and a
20%-30% faster vegetative growth cycle. Our systems are soilless,
completely eliminating the need for costly mediums such as rockwool or
coco substrates. By eliminating grow mediums, we also eliminate the
labor associated with them. This could translate into a nice reduction
in the costs associated with cannabis production while reducing the
impact on the environment."
Notwithstanding our project with Tweed, we do not view ourselves as a
"cannabis company." All of our R&D and operations to date have been
focused with a view of serving the vertical farming industry. Nothing in
our business plan involves any activities that directly or indirectly
violate either the Department of Justice ("DOJ") Cole Memorandum or the
related FinCEN guidance. In the future, we will require any individual
or entity purchasing equipment for cultivation of cannabis, to provide
us proof that they are legally allowed to cultivate cannabis and that
they have policies in place to ensure adherence to DOJ and FinCEN
guidance.
In late December 2013, the Company began development of a framing system
for vertical farming of culinary herbs, microgreens and leafy greens. In
keeping with our modular fixture based approach, we have developed a
universal framing system that is designed to work with standard strut
framing systems, Illumitex® brand horticulture LED's and standard
hydroponic systems. Our framing system is also designed for use with our
modular aeroponic system, making our complete product line
interchangeable.
The Company is also currently constructing a full service research lab
within our existing 10,000 sq. ft. facility. We expect construction to
be completed in the 2nd Quarter of 2015. We will be installing six large
aeroponic systems and six large shallow raft systems. The lab will serve
as both our showroom and research facility in order to collect data on
various cultivars in order to develop new platforms, fixtures and
collect data on possible new business plans for vertical farming. We
will also use the facility to begin developing automated controls and
best practices.
We are expecting to be in a position to begin limited sales and offering
design build services in the 2nd Quarter of 2015. We do not expect to
generate significant revenue or profit from operations in 2015 and we
will require additional capital investments in order to properly scale
to meet the expected demand. The first half of 2015 will be primarily
focused on completing tooling, developing marketing materials, attending
industry conferences to build brand awareness, hiring and training sales
staff, building our management team and creating a board of directors to
provide better governance and guidance.
Harking back to the early days in the development of the computer
industries, Indoor Harvest’s CEO and founder Chad Sykes commented,
"We've come a long way since this Company started in my garage back in
2011 growing lettuce and basil. If not for the faith of our investors,
none of this would have ever happened. I thank you and above all else,
thank you for your patience. We've developed some really strong industry
relationships, landed some prestigious collaborations and built a
platform technology that I believe will be considered state-of-the-art
for aeroponics and hydroponic systems. We now have to make the
transition from proof of concept to a viable, commercial entity. We are
working to make 2015 the year we scale up in order to make that happen."
Consistent with the SEC’s April 2013 guidance on using social media
outlets like Facebook and Twitter to make corporate disclosures and
announce key information in compliance with Regulation FD, Indoor
Harvest is alerting investors and other members of the general public
that Indoor Harvest will provide weekly updates on operations and
progress through its social media on Facebook and Twitter. Investors,
potential investors and individuals interested in our company are
encouraged to keep informed by following us on Twitter or Facebook.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/indoorharvest
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/indoorharvest
ABOUT INDOOR HARVEST CORP
Indoor Harvest, Corp., through its brand name Indoor Harvest™, is an
emerging design build contractor and OEM manufacturer of commercial
aeroponic and hydroponic system fixtures and framing systems for use in
Controlled Environment Agriculture and Building Integrated Agriculture.
Our patent pending aeroponic fixtures are based upon a modular concept
in which primary components are interchangeable. We are developing our
aeroponic and hydroponic systems for use by both horticulture
enthusiasts and commercial operators who seek to utilize aeroponic and
hydroponic vertical farming methods within a controlled indoor
environment. Please visit our website at http://www.indoorharvest.com
for more information about our Company.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains certain “forward-looking statements” relating to
the business of Indoor Harvest and its subsidiary companies, which can
be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
“estimates,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” expects” and similar
expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially
different from those described herein as anticipated, believed,
estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or
will be described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on
Indoor Harvest’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future
developments and their potential effects on Indoor Harvest. There can be
no assurance that future developments affecting Indoor Harvest will be
those anticipated by Indoor Harvest. These forward-looking statements
involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the
control of the Company) or other assumptions that may cause actual
results or performance to be materially different from those expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements. Indoor Harvest undertakes
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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