Failed vertical farming company Smartkas is taking its supplier Artechno Growth Systems to court, claiming the three ‘climate cells’ the company supplied for its Dutch project in Amsterdam did not work properly and are in part responsible for the failure of the company.
In response, Artechno says that Smartkas Project Finance ordered 10 units in 2021 and that outstanding invoices have not been paid. Smartkas also claims faulty lighting from Parus Europe led to the company’s problems, and appointed loss adjusters for a claim against the supplier in 2023.
In the UK, Smartkas announced plans for a 12-story high, 2,250 sq. m. facility in Harlow to grow strawberries for BerryWorld, but the British business was declared bankrupt in February 2024, with the administrators saying that the largest creditor to Smartkas UK is the parent company Smartkas B.V., and that a green bond issued by the company could be downgraded due to missed interest payments.
According to Hortidaily, Smartkas CEO David Meszaros said, “We had a rough time because of the failure of the suppliers of the projects. Because of this, we sued the responsible suppliers. We managed to significantly reimburse the debts caused by this, while now looking ahead to subsequent projects after restructuring.”
A decision by the Dutch court is expected in a couple of weeks, and Smartkas believes that it still has a future in the horticultural sector. “This marks a new beginning for us after a challenging period, but we are back on track,” continued David. “We’ve witnessed our projects go awry, resulting in employee layoffs and millions of dollars in losses, not to mention the opportunity costs we have incurred. Fortunately, we have other projects that would have been completed by now if not for the immense stress and resource demands these issues have created. While our legal team manages the ongoing litigation, we are now focusing on these future projects. We are confident that these cases will conclude positively.”
