Turnkey Greenhouse Projects for Commercial Growers
A turnkey greenhouse project designs and installs every component — structure, irrigation, fertigation, climate control and automation — within one project scope. AGIMEX prepares commercial greenhouse projects for tomatoes and other vegetables, strawberries and seedlings, starting from the crop target, and within the agreed scope delivers installation, testing and commissioning.
Greenhouse project design and engineering, and turnkey greenhouse projects, for growers and investors: AGIMEX connects crop strategy, structure, water, nutrients, climate and control in one design and, within the agreed scope, delivers systems integration, procurement and supply, irrigation, fertigation, automation, installation, testing and commissioning. The greenhouse structure is manufactured to the technical specification the project defines.
A structure is one subsystem of a production investment
A commercial greenhouse is often bought as a building. It is more usefully understood as an integrated production system in which the structure is one subsystem among several. Covering material, gutter height and bay geometry matter because of what they do to light, climate volume and working space — not as specifications in their own right. The investment that has to return capital is the production system, and the structure is chosen to serve it.
Engineering the interactions
The engineering difficulty in a commercial greenhouse is rarely any single system. It is that the systems determine one another. Ventilating for humidity removes heat the heating system must replace. A screen that saves energy changes light and humidity. Irrigation and fertigation set root-zone conditions and drainage load, and both respond to the climate strategy that transpiration demand drives. What is engineered is the behaviour of that whole, and the interfaces between its parts — which is precisely what a project loses when each system is procured separately against its own specification.
The production model decides the technology level
Crop, target market, production calendar and the quality specification the buyer expects determine how much climate control the project actually needs. Year-round production in a cold winter is a heating, energy and supplementary-light problem; summer production in a hot, dry climate is a cooling, shading and water problem. Technology level is an investment decision with a running cost attached, not a rank order in which more is better. A project specified above what its market can absorb carries operating cost it cannot recover.
Plan of a designed seedling propagation facility: a multi-span production greenhouse beside a separate rooting greenhouse, with a central technical building serving both. Span 9.60 m and length 55.00 m; the production greenhouse is 86.40 m wide and the two units are 25.0 m apart.
Site, climate and the production calendar
Site assessment covers climate data and its reliability, water source and quality, energy availability and tariff, land and orientation, access and logistics, and labour availability. These constraints interact: a site with cheap land and poor water is not cheap. The production calendar is where the market and the site meet, and it is normally the first thing to be tested, because it determines the climate strategy and therefore most of the capital cost.
Structure requirements are specified by the project
AGIMEX undertakes turnkey greenhouse projects: the structure is manufactured to the project's technical specification, while irrigation, fertigation, automation, integration, installation, testing and commissioning can be delivered by AGIMEX within the agreed scope. For the structure itself, what AGIMEX does is establish what the structure has to do — the loads it must carry, the climate performance it must support, the internal logistics it must accommodate, the interfaces it must present to the systems installed inside it — and then specify, evaluate and coordinate that against suppliers. Keeping specification separate from manufacturing is deliberate: an independent technical requirement can be compared across suppliers, which a supplier's own specification cannot.
Design cross-section: 9.60 m span, 5.00 m gutter height, 6.80 m ridge and 1.80 m roof rise. Columns, truss top and bottom chords and truss verticals and diagonals are distinct members. A mid-height bracing line provides lateral stability; its section is sized by structural calculation in the fabrication design. The longitudinal view shows wind bracing in the end and internal bays; bay spacing is set in the fabrication design from the wind and snow load calculation and the cover and screen systems. Foundation type, number and depth follow the geotechnical investigation and the uplift and compression calculation.
Cross-section — one span
Longitudinal view — bays and bracing
- Span 9.60 m
- Gutter height 5.00 m
- Ridge 6.80 m
- Roof rise 1.80 m
- Column: square hollow section, structural steel; section set by structural calculation for the wind, snow and crop load combinations
- Truss top and bottom chords: steel tube lattice arch; chord sections and truss depth sized by structural calculation for the span and load combinations
- Truss verticals and diagonals: steel tube lattice members connecting the chords; sections set by structural calculation
- Mid-height bracing line: for lateral stability and erection stiffness; section sized by structural calculation in the fabrication design
- Foundation and anchorage: type, number and depth set by the geotechnical investigation and the uplift and compression calculation
Double-layer PE film cover
Longitudinal wind bracing: steel tube bracing in end and internal bays; transfers longitudinal wind load to the foundations, sections set by structural calculation
Bay spacing: set in the fabrication design from the wind and snow load calculation and the cover and screen systems
Schematic; not to scale and not a site layout.
Water, water treatment, irrigation and fertigation
Greenhouse irrigation is a higher-precision problem than field irrigation because the root volume is smaller and the buffer is shorter. Source water quality often requires treatment before it is usable; the growing medium determines irrigation frequency and drainage behaviour; fertigation has to deliver a controlled nutrient solution reliably. Where drainage is recirculated, disinfection and solution management become part of the system. These decisions are made together with the climate strategy, because transpiration demand is what links them.
Climate: heating, cooling, ventilation and control
Heating capacity, ventilation, screening, cooling and dehumidification are one coupled system: screening that saves energy, for example, also changes light and humidity. A control strategy that treats each setpoint independently spends energy fighting itself. The design question is what climate the crop requires at each stage, and what the cheapest reliable way of holding it is on this particular site.
Plan of a 12.00 by 6.00 m technical building with five zones: gas meter and regulator room behind a fire and gas separation wall, electrical and control room, boiler and heating equipment, water treatment and distribution, and a buffer tank for roof sprinklers. Natural gas, electricity and water enter from outside.
- D — Gas meter / regulator room
- ≈3 m²
- C — Electrical / control
- ≈7.5 m²
- A — Boiler / heating equipment
- ≈30 m²
- B — Water treatment and distribution
- ≈9 m²
- E — Roof sprinkler buffer tank
- ≈12 m²
Zoning is a design constraint to be confirmed in the mechanical and electrical design against local regulations.
Electrical systems, automation and sensing
The control architecture determines whether the designed climate and irrigation strategies can actually be executed. That covers electrical distribution and backup, control hardware, sensor selection and placement, the integration of climate, irrigation and energy control, and what happens on failure. Sensor placement decides what the control system believes about the greenhouse, so it is an engineering decision rather than an installation detail.
Procurement, supply, integration and installation
In a turnkey greenhouse project AGIMEX can carry procurement and supply, installation and integration within the agreed scope. Greenhouse projects typically involve several suppliers with overlapping and sometimes contradictory scopes: structure, screens, heating, irrigation and fertigation, control, internal transport. The integration work is defining the interfaces between them, sequencing installation so that trades do not block each other, and verifying that what arrives matches what was specified. This coordination is the part most often left to the investor by default, and the part where the cost of ambiguity appears.
Commissioning and production ramp-up
Commissioning verifies that systems perform against written acceptance criteria under realistic conditions, which for a greenhouse means across a climate range rather than on a single mild day. Ramp-up is the period in which the operation learns the building: the control strategy is tuned to the actual crop response, and the gap between designed and achieved behaviour becomes visible. Planning for that period is part of the project, not an afterthought to it.
How a Turnkey Greenhouse Is Set Up
A greenhouse is set up in six steps. 1) Crop and production target: target yield, growing season and market for tomato, strawberry, seedlings or another crop. 2) Site and water survey: climate data, ground conditions, water source and water quality. 3) Greenhouse type and technology level: structure type, covering, climate control and soil or substrate growing chosen for the crop. 4) Design and specification: structure, irrigation, fertigation, climate and automation designed as one project; manufacturing and supply follow this specification. 5) Installation: structure, irrigation and fertigation lines, climate and control systems installed on site. 6) Testing and commissioning: systems tested together, handed over to the operating team and the first production season started.
Information to get started
- Crop, growing system and production calendar
- Local climate, water quality and energy availability
- Logistics and operating requirements
Potential deliverables within the agreed scope
- Design basis for greenhouse systems
- Water, climate and automation interfaces
- Technical specification and acceptance approach
- Procurement, integration, installation and commissioning scope in turnkey delivery
These are examples, not limits. Deliverables depend on site assessment and the agreed scope of work, and a project may require engineering outputs not listed here.
Discuss a greenhouse projectFrequently asked questions
- What does a turnkey greenhouse project include?
- Scope is written down for each project. A turnkey greenhouse project can run from defining the crop and production model through greenhouse project engineering and structure specification, irrigation, fertigation, climate and control design, systems integration, procurement and supply, installation, testing and commissioning. AGIMEX undertakes these integrated greenhouse projects; the structure is manufactured to the technical specification the project defines. Under a turnkey scope, the responsibilities of each party and the contract model (EPC, lump-sum or separate contracts) are defined in each project contract.
- What steps make up a greenhouse project?
- Setting the crop and production calendar, assessing site and climate, selecting the structure, designing climate control, irrigation and fertigation, automation, then commissioning against written acceptance criteria. These steps are interdependent; solving one in isolation surfaces as cost during operation.
- Which greenhouse type should a project use?
- Height, bay width and covering material follow the crop’s light requirement, working height and the intended production calendar. Winter production changes the heating and lighting the structure must carry; summer production changes cooling and shading.
- Are climate control and irrigation designed together in a greenhouse?
- Yes. Ventilating for humidity loses heat that the heating capacity must cover, while irrigation and fertigation set root-zone conditions and drainage. Selected separately, the three end up working against each other.
- Are Netafim systems used in greenhouse projects?
- They can be. As an official Netafim dealer, AGIMEX integrates Netafim greenhouse irrigation and fertigation solutions where they suit the crop, water quality, growing system and operating needs; equipment is selected for each project.
- Is a propagation greenhouse for cuttings and young plants different?
- Yes. Propagation of cuttings and young plants has narrow climate tolerances, fast turnover and heavy internal logistics; boom irrigation, root-zone management and internal transport affect the structure itself. The production and logistics interfaces are therefore defined at the start of design.
Official Netafim dealer
AGIMEX is an official Netafim dealer. Netafim irrigation and fertigation technologies are integrated into AGIMEX projects where they meet the project's engineering and agronomic requirements: technology selection follows water quality, crop, site conditions and operating needs.
Netafim is a trademark of Netafim Ltd.
Greenhouse projects by crop
Tomato Greenhouse Project
We design your tomato greenhouse starting from your crop, your site's climate and your market: climate system, precision fertigation, installation and season-long support.
Strawberry Greenhouse Project
We design your soilless strawberry greenhouse around your site's climate and your market: hanging gutter system, precision fertigation, climate control and season-long support.
Seedling Propagation Greenhouse Project
We design your propagation greenhouse around your production programme and your site's climate: capillary and ebb & flow irrigation, climate zones, internal logistics and season-long support.
At the centre is the productive environment: crop, production model, capacity and calendar. Around it sit systems that determine one another: structure, climate control, water and water treatment, irrigation and fertigation, drainage, electrical and energy, automation and measurement, biosecurity, and production workflow. A decision in any one of them changes what the others have to be; the structure is one system among them, not the project itself.
- Structure
- Climate control
- Water and treatment
- Irrigation and fertigation
- Drainage
- Electrical and energy
- Automation and measurement
- Biosecurity
- Production workflow
What sits at the centre is the production environment, not the building. The structure is one of the systems that determine it, shown at the same weight as the others. The greenhouse structure is manufactured to the technical specification the project defines; AGIMEX defines the requirement and can deliver the integrated project, including installation and commissioning, within the agreed scope. The list is open: not every project includes every system, and a project may require systems not shown here.
Explore our capabilities
Turnkey Agricultural and Irrigation Projects
For investors and agricultural operations, AGIMEX undertakes turnkey and integrated agricultural projects — turnkey greenhouse, orchard and open-field irrigation projects — combining project development and engineering, procurement and supply, systems integration, installation, automation, testing and commissioning within one agreed scope. Under a turnkey scope, the responsibilities of each party and the contract model (EPC, lump-sum or separate contracts) are defined in each project contract.
Irrigation Project Design and Turnkey Drip Irrigation
Irrigation design and engineering for commercial farms, orchards and greenhouses, and turnkey irrigation projects for open-field crops, orchards and greenhouses: AGIMEX delivers crop-led hydraulic design and system specification and, within the agreed scope, procurement and supply, fertigation, automation, installation, testing and commissioning.
Data-Driven Agriculture
For farms, greenhouses and agricultural investments with installed or planned infrastructure: AGIMEX defines the measurement architecture and monitoring requirements, reads operating data against the engineering design, and sets up decision support and performance evaluation. AGIMEX provides engineering and agronomic decision support.
Agribusiness Advisory
Agricultural feasibility studies, technical due diligence, project preparation and design review for agricultural investments — advisory grounded in production systems, technical feasibility and operating realities.