Completion ceremony held for a next-generation model vegetable factory with artificial lighting, capable of developing automated equipment and facilities
Fukui Mihama Plant Completed

Tsubakimoto Chain Co. (Head office: Kita-ku, Osaka; President: Takatoshi Kimura) has completed construction of its Fukui Mihama Plant, a next-generation model vegetable factory with artificial lighting located in the Wakasa Mihama Interchange Industrial Park in Mihama Town, Mikata District, Fukui Prefecture. A completion ceremony for this facility was held on September 10.
The ceremony was attended by local representatives from Mihama Town, Fukui Prefecture, as well as representatives from the construction industry and business partners. Following the Shinto ceremony, those in attendance were given a tour of the lettuce production facility at the factory.
This, our sixth factory in Japan, is dedicated to plant cultivation. This factory is focused on building a safe and secure infrastructure for living, which is one of the societal commitments set out in our long-term vision. This next-generation model factory employs a new cultivation method designed to meet the increasing demand from convenience stores and other food service markets for vegetable-factory grown vegetables. This factory also serves as our agribusiness research and development center. It therefore functions as a showcase for what we call the “demonstration development” of automated equipment and facilities closely related to cultivation sites.
Lettuce produced at this factory will begin shipping at the end of September. Production volume is expected to be expanded gradually.

Message from Takatoshi Kimura, President and Representative Director

We would like to express our gratitude to all those involved in this construction effort since the initial groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2023. The invaluable support of all concerned enabled us to hold this successful completion ceremony. One might wonder why Tsubakimoto Chain, a machinery manufacturer with a history exceeding 100 years, is investing in vegetable factories such as this. The answer lies in one of the societal issues we are aiming to solve, which is to contribute to building a safe and secure infrastructure for living. At the Fukui Mihama Plant, we will continue to provide a stable supply of safe and secure vegetables, while also ensuring that this facility serves as a foundation contributing to the development of new automated equipment and cultivation techniques. Through the operation of the Fukui Mihama Plant, we will demonstrate that vegetable factories represent an attractive business opportunity; moreover, through our various initiatives, this facility will evolve as a factory capable of establishing firm roots in the local community.

Overview of the Fukui Mihama Plant

- Location: Wakasa Mihama Interchange Industrial Park, 77-15-12 Yamagami, Mihama-cho, Mikata-gun, Fukui
- Site Area: 8,498 m2 (Total floor area 3,691 m2, steel-framed construction)
- Scope of Business: A vegetable factory intended primarily for cultivation of lettuce and other leafy vegetables as well as research and development for our agribusiness segment
- Production Scale: Planned production of 2.2 metric tons of lettuce and other leafy vegetables per day, making it the largest such facility in Fukui Prefecture
- Customers: Convenience stores and other food service markets
- Number of Employees: 0 (with a shift-based operation involving 18 staff members per shift, including full-time and part-time workers)

News Releases Related to This Project

Construction of a Next-Generation Model Vegetable Factory with Artificial Lighting (February 14, 2023) (in Japanese only)

https://www.tsubakimoto.jp/company/news/press/2023/02/14/1/

Agreement Signing Ceremony Held with Mihama-cho, Mikata-gun, Fukui Prefecture (May 9, 2023) (in Japanese only)

https://www.tsubakimoto.jp/company/news/press/2023/05/09/2/