Hartpury continues to shape the future of digital farming with the delivery of new ‘Tech Box Park’ workspace units this week. This forms the second phase of its pioneering Digital Innovation Farm to meet the global demand for new technology in farming.
The 10 x 40ft High-Cube Tech Box Park units are developed using environmentally friendly, repurposed shipping containers clad in cedar wood. They will create a new kind of workspace dedicated to enabling the growth and development of Gloucestershire’s innovative agri-tech, food-tech, and green-tech businesses including start-ups and SMEs.
The construction of five bespoke new units at Hartpury’s commercial Home Farm were designed and manufactured by ISO Spaces, an award-winning designer and manufacturer of container conversions and modular buildings based in Truro, Cornwall.
ISO Spaces Managing Director, Ben Treleaven said “We are delighted to bring Hartpury’s innovative shipping container conversion project to life at the heart of Hartpury’s commercial Home Farm.”
The first Digital Innovation Farm Tech Box Park Unit has been reserved by Novazera, a UK company that creates biodegradable plastic alternative products and ground-breaking anti-viral and bacterial coatings.
Funding for the Tech Box Park has been provided by the GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership Getting Building Fund, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust.
To book a tour of the facility, or to secure a Tech Box unit for your business, click here to learn more. The Digital Innovation Farm project, home to both the £2 million Tech Box Park and £2 million Agri-Tech Centre, provides a unique opportunity for students and staff to connect with business, whether through research partnerships or work placement and employment opportunities.
Hartpury’s Tech Box Park facility is dedicated to enabling the growth of innovative local businesses looking to develop new or existing products and accelerate them into the Agri-tech market.
Hartpury University and Hartpury College provide a range of diplomas, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in agriculture, including a new MRes in Applied Agricultural Sciences to prepare the agricultural leaders of the future. In the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2021, 100% of agriculture students progressed into employment, education, or other purposeful activity.
