018: Jamey Agathen - Grow Strong Industries

Grow Strong Industries’ mission is to help humanity thrive by enabling all people to grow indoors effortlessly.
Since they founded in 2002, Grow Strong Industries has grown by leaps and bounds. From offering a single product, now offer multiple products - including grow tents, LED lighting, hydroponics systems, and nutrients - all suitable for indoor growing. Starting from three lifelong friends in their garage, they now have an army of employees and an office to call their own.

More about Jamey:
Email: jamey@growstrongindustries.com
Website: https://www.growstrongindustries.com

More about Joe Swartz:
Website: https://amhydro.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HydroConsultant

More about Nick Greens:
Website: https://www.nickgreens.com

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hey everybody. Welcome to another episode of the poly greens podcast. I'm Joe Swartz from annum, hydro, along with my friend and colleague Nick greens of the Nick greens grow team. And we're here to talk to you again about all things controlled environment agriculture. Um, Probably the biggest advancement in controlled environment, agriculture in recent years.
And sometimes the, one of the most controversial subjects is horticultural lighting. And a lot of people tend to think about it as it relates to indoor growing specifically, where we're providing a hundred percent of the lighting that the plants will need, but also to in greenhouses where a supplemental lighting situation is, is appropriate.
So we're looking to. Fill in the gaps, um, whether we're looking to completely control the lighting for photosynthetic activity or whether we're looking to supplement, uh, where the sunlight is lacking. Um, lighting is certainly one of the big drivers in the technological advancement of controlled environment agriculture right now.
So, so we're very [00:01:00] happy to have today. Um, Jamie Agathon. Um, she's the sales manager of growth, strong industries, um, led lighting manufacturer. And, uh, I know that, uh, Nick, you've got some experience with them and you've been doing some work. So why don't you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, I mean, yeah, they send me the lights a couple months ago and I just started, uh, actually focusing on their, um, uh, their more veggies, vegetated light.
Um, and it's more of hitting the blue spectrum. Right. And. And I've always known this, uh, just from coming from the cannabis world that, you know, blue spectrum during Vedge was very important. Uh, so we did a lot of metal highlight, uh, experiments with blue only light bulbs and, and had the same success too, you know, like just big, big, big, more root, more leaf growth.
Um, I mean the Leafs on, on the plants are just, I mean, they're bonkers, you know, and my seal to level a, Joe's not changing. So. It's just a regular, what [00:02:00] people breathe in people's houses, you know? So I'm not trying to pump CO2. These lights are, are helping me. Uh, being able to grow healthier plants without spending money on CO2, um, and utilizing the specific light spectrum of course, to get, you know, better STEM growth, better vegetative growth, uh, all the way through.
That's been, that's been pretty well known for, for quite some time, but the, the technologies to, to supply that have changed pretty dramatically. And it sounds like, you know, you've been, um, you know, as long as I've known you, you've been researching and constantly trying. New technologies, new lighting techniques, photo periods, the whole nine yards.
So, so what kind of, um, what kind of things were you seeing with, uh, with the new lighting? Well, and it's okay. So not even the vegetative state. So I figured, and, and from, from my, you know, more visual experiments, I guess, I mean, I'm collecting a lot of data, not, not as much data as I really want to, to call it a full experiment.
Um, but it's more of the visual experiment and, [00:03:00] and seeing what the plants are doing versus me running them under fluorescent lighting are a combination of regular, uh, you know, led lighting, white spectrum with just. Fluorescent mixed. Um, that was my best success. But since then, I don't even use any of those fluorescent lights or anything like that.
Our combination, I just used their blue bars and like I put one under my, uh, actually my countertop in my, in my kitchen. And that's my, that's my, like a nursery now. So that's where all my seedlings start and it's just the most perfect light for it. I mean, like I said, just the leaf. The just how big the Leafs get are just my minds are my mind is blown.
Hmm. So how did, how did you come to meet Jamie and learn about, um, um, I, um, I think it was through LinkedIn. We, I contacted with a, uh, one of her colleagues, um, and, um, we started going back and forth and I was just like, you know, this is. [00:04:00] You know, I, I I've been watching your lights and I would like to get my hands on some and just kind of like see what they can do.
And, and this is why I'm, I'm going cucumber, melons, um, lemon, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers. These are the things I'm growing with under them right now. Um, not too much lettuce or microgreens just because I want it to focus more on getting my garden ready for, uh, um, the springtime. So Jamie, um, welcome. We're glad to have you here.
Um, so, so you heard a little bit, uh, from Nick. Can you tell us a little bit about that interaction and, and what, what your approach was in, in supplying lighting? And maybe tell us a little bit about your company. Thanks for having me. Well, yeah, like you said, there's definitely a lot of exciting things happening.
Um, and the, the lighting, the led grow light world these days. Um, so we're really excited that that Nick has some interest in checking out or lights. Um, we do get that a lot, you know, we're, we're a company that, um, you [00:05:00] know, it was very, uh, plant focused. Um, with the design of our lights and really, you know, getting the best results, um, healthy plants, like Nicki's, you've grown to experience that with our, with our bar lights and with our X squared.
Um, but again, as a company, we've, you know, one of the major benefits of having a designing an led grow light. Is the ability to specifically target the spectrum. Right. And so, um, I like to say we've done a really great job with that. Um, in our, in our bar lights, uh, nip referred to the very specific blue spectrum with the, with the bar light and our SED veggie bar.
And, you know, just promoting that, that growth that is really important, um, in a vegetative. Uh, cycle of a plant's life. And so, um, we're thrilled that, you know, Nick, uh, it sounds like he did his research. Um, again, we get that a lot, uh, um, growers doing their research and then coming to us because, uh, we're doing something unique, um, in the grow light sector.
Do you do specifically [00:06:00] solely indoor sole source lighting or do you also incorporate your lighting and utilizing supplemental lighting? So like frame greenhouse situation. Um, so we, um, we've have experienced in both our latest and greatest greenhouse, um, light. We will be launching shortly. Um, and so, but these X, uh, X 18 X series bar lights, um, they are IP 65.
They, um, we've got a double side bar as well. Um, so in greenhouse applications, those double-sided bars do, um, a really great job and, um, an inner canopy lighting. Um, and supplemental light. So yeah, you can absolutely, um, use those X series, uh, bar lights in a supplemental application. So how long, how long have you, has your company been involved in specifically in controlled environment, agriculture and horticultural production?
Um, so we, uh, our first light was developed in [00:07:00] 2014. And so, um, really, I mean, taking, um, you know, looking at, at the led lights on the market, we knew there was potential, um, to grow with LEDs. It had been done before. Um, right. But just not well. And so, um, you know, looking at how those lights were designed and how we can improve canopy, penetration, improve the spectrum.
Improve, um, you know, the lifespan of a light there's, you know, a lot of fail, failing lights out there, um, led grow lights. And so we developed a light, mostly focused on, um, uh, personal, you know, smaller grows for indoor lighting. And so, you know, as, as. You know, growers started expanding, you know, growing in larger environments.
Um, you know, we've developed lights, you know, in, you know, since then, um, to, you know, to, to follow what a grower's needs are, uh, when it comes to lighting. And then so recently we've released this, uh, our latest [00:08:00] commercial series and that's the X squared, but, uh, Nick is awesome. And you know what I noticed also about this light, Joe, um, so say.
I'm doing a five by five space. Right. Um, and Holly, all I really want is about two bars for vegging that is spread out through that whole canopy five, two. And I think you can even get away with one. I mean, you might get a little stretch. You might have to turn the plants around just to kind of cover everything.
But two bars in a five by five space is enough. I mean, usually what we need four or five, maybe. Um, so that's what I noticed as well with the slights. You're getting good coverage. Um, Jamie, what, what, what have you seen in your time in the industry? Um, as, as some of the big challenges in being a horticultural lighting provider, obviously there's a lot of companies, a lot of very big name companies, big players out in the industry.
And everyone is vying for the space. Everyone has the best light. Everyone has the smartest technology. So, [00:09:00] so tell me a little bit about what you're seeing in the industry, particularly as to what some of the challenges are and what your company is doing to address some of those. Um, so. Definitely within the industry.
Um, there's a lot of misconceptions with LEDs in general. And so, you know, breaking down those misconceptions, showing, showing growers who have grown with, uh, with HPS lights for, you know, decades, um, that there is a technology that works, but it's just, um, finding the right light. And so with the LEDs and competing companies, we're all really vying for the same.
Thing, right. It's to become, to provide an efficient light for growers, you know, to bring everybody into that next century of growing. Um, and, and to have again, an efficient light to do that. And it is possible. Um, yes, there are some big players in the, um, the industry. Absolutely. Um, so, you know, for us, it's just telling our story, it's letting our light speak for itself, the results speak for themselves.
[00:10:00] Um, you know, we've, uh, you know, we've. Say proof's in the pudding, right? It's absolutely. Um, result-driven when it comes to, um, to choosing an led light and there's a lot of, you know, it's comparing apples to apples too. And I don't mean to throw out a lot of like, terms like that, but, you know, within the led perlite sector, yes, there are a lot of different, um, Designs, um, very low end lights to very high end lights.
So it's really, you know, as a grower, determining what you want out of a grow light, what you're looking for and your results with your plants, um, and going with a trusted brand that has a proven track record. A lot of times, you know, you do get what you pay for, um, you know, you, if it looks too good to be true, it is, uh, we get a lot of competition from it's.
Like I could buy this a hundred dollar light. Um, it's just simply, you're not gonna get the results that you would, um, with a higher end delight. And if you're looking to invest in something, if you're looking [00:11:00] to get good results, a brand you can trust for years to come, you do want to make that. Um, Hmm.
That's one of the conversations that I've heard a lot in the industry over the past seven or eight years, is that as, um, led lighting became a much bigger factor in controlled environment, agriculture and horticulture, light horticultural lighting in general. The, the, the concept and the theory was that, you know, LEDs were much more efficient.
You could adjust the spectrum and that, that that's it. And there you go. So here's our new technology and that's going to supplant everything else. And, you know, there's been lots of arguments and debates in the industry over the years. And a lot of people have said to me, even, you know, why, why would you ever use, you know, high intensity discharge or HPS or metal Haylight um, when LEDs are kind of the new perfect form of lighting and, and what we've seen in the industry of course, is, is this slow adoption.
And a lot of that is based on, [00:12:00] first of all, most farmers, horticulturalists growers are slow to adopt technologies specifically because. For you can look at any farmer, any technology based culturalist they have new technologies coming all the time. And the big problem is the balance of, of the economics, the performance and the crop prep, quality, crappy yield performance, balanced with the economics, the cost of the light and the cost to operate the light.
And that balance is, is still even to this day. Um, a big question Mark, in many growers minds and obviously a lot of the early technologies really failed to produce, um, either, uh, they, they produce inferior quality, um, or they produce decent quality at, you know, unreasonable or more unsustainable costs, uh, or God forbid both.
And, um, And even to this day, we see a lot of that in lighting. So obviously you've been getting your [00:13:00] products out there. I know that, um, you know, I'm not going to ask you obviously for any names or whatnot, but if you're working with commercial growers and growers, W when you, when you look at, at how you're trying to get the growers to evaluate your lighting, as well as how you're evaluating your lighting, how do you look at that?
Do you look at it specifically here, we're going to go into this growing operation to this situation, and this is how our lights are performing, or do you actually do a lot of side-by-side comparisons where you can actually develop kind of a tangible metrics where you can compare yourself to say a Phillips or I'll Luma grow or a Helio spectrum, anything like that?
Um, how do you approach that? Well, I think with, uh, with our lights and going into more commercial space, I mean, it's, it's really a matter of getting the lights in people's hands. You know, we want, uh, growers to be confident in their decision for their light. We know it's a long-term investment. We know it's, it's, uh, it's a good amount of money [00:14:00] that you're spending on, on this equipment.
Um, like you said, uh, you know, so getting lights in people's hands, letting them test the lights themselves, getting them, um, you know, having, you know, really close conversations with people, making sure that they're optimizing the results with room temperatures, um, you know, proper distance above the canopy CO2 levels.
Like Nick mentioned, it's, um, you know, making sure that they're set up for success. Um, you know, if that's not an option for them, um, the investment. Yes. I mean, that's, that's something that's an important, uh, thankfully there's, uh, many great rebate incentives out there for businesses, uh, to switch over to LEDs or to purchase LEDs.
And so, you know, that's been a great incentive for, um, led grow light manufacturers across the board. Um, you know, yes, it is a larger upfront cost, but when you can get up to a 40% rebate, um, for the, for the price of that light, that's, you know, that speaks volumes to [00:15:00] have in terms of, uh, the cashflow teal.
And so that's a very attractive incentive. Um, that goes a long way with, with the commercial accounts as well. As your company moves forward. Um, uh, would you say that you are currently focusing more on the, the home hobby market versus the commercial market and based on that, what, what are your future plans?
Where do you see the company going. Sure. Um, so I don't see, I don't think our focus is with one over the other. I mean, our roots were with the home grower. Um, we'll always offer a home grown solution. Um, you know, a lot of people, you know, start out that way. I mean, they're the most emerging market in the U S you know, with the laws changing, um, Is the home grower, right?
So, you know, we, we want to be able to provide lights, um, lights that can grow quality, um, you know, fruits, vegetables, medicine, [00:16:00] whatever it might be to that home grower. Um, having said that there's also a, a great demand, um, commercially, um, as well. And so, you know, the products, uh, we'll be coming out with new products for, for any type of griller and we'll continue to do that.
Yeah. So, so going forward, you're looking at really kind of. Expanding your offerings to both, both ends of the industry. Absolutely food as well as cannabis, as well as any other medicinal crops as well. Um, yes. I mean, we're our company. I mean, I must say like our largest customer base is, is cannabis related.
Um, I hope that's okay to say, but, uh, um, you know, as far as the culture goes, yes, this greenhouse light, um, you know, that that's going to be something that we're really gonna push. Um, we work, uh, with micro greens growers and, uh, Greensboro's with our bar lights. So, I mean, we are extending, uh, expanding into those, uh, those markets [00:17:00] more, more so than we have done in the past.
So what, so what's brought what brought Jamie to horticulture, um, and, and horticultural lighting specifically, uh, you get here. How did I get here? That's a deep question. Um, so I'm originally from the Midwest. Um, and so, um, moved to California about 10 years ago. Um, Was in retail for a long time. And I always had an interest in growing.
I always, um, grew, um, you know, personally, uh, indoors. And so it just seemed like a natural step and something that interests me a lot, something I had experienced then, um, and being in Northern California, I mean, there is a Mecca of, you know, uh, within the industry, uh, whether that be for product manufacturing, um, you know, cultivation.
So I was, I was in the right place at the right time. Hmm. Yeah. Am hydro being based in Humboldt County. We can, we can really relate to that. [00:18:00] And worldwide distribution. Are you mostly focused in North America? Um, we are worldwide. Yeah, we've got distributors in Europe. Um, we have a distributor in Canada. Um, we are in Australia.
Um, so yeah, worldwide distribution. Nice. What, um, how long, how long have you been in the industry yourself? Um, six years. Six years. So in that six years, what, what, what's the biggest surprise? What are you? What have you not expected? That's happened? What have I not expected? Um, Well, I mean, it's been a long haul, uh, you know, there have been a lot of ups and downs and you can probably relate to this, you know, in the hydro, uh, side of things, as far as retail is concerned.
But, um, yeah, just a lot of, um, you know, it's been a roller coaster in the last six years. Um, you know, the surprise really came in probably with the, [00:19:00] with the pandemic, um, you know, the amount of, of growers that, um, We saw get so much interest in, you know, picking up this new hobby, you know, being, having to stay in doors and wanting to do this and realizing it's like it is possible and it's fun.
And so, um, I mean, it's just this last year with everything going on, we've been very fortunate to be in this industry and to get people excited about growing. Fantastic. Nick, you have any questions? Um, I mean, uh, what's the technology behind the X, uh, I mean the X square. So I would say the technology, I mean, when we design products, um, I mean, we, we just don't cut corners.
I mean, we really source it's really important for us to, um, to work with the manufacturing partner, um, you know, sourcing the highest grade, uh, you know, components, um, okay. By the way, [00:20:00] Joe, this is, this is the Bentley of, uh, of, of luck by the way, like just the meadow and just the way it looks and the color and yeah.
It's it's, it's definitely like a Bentley car. If we could compare it to kind of, to give something, to compare it to yeah. Thank you. That's, that's really nice of you to say, I mean, it is, it will catch your eye, you know, when we get to do trade shows again, I mean, people don't walk past our booth normally.
I mean, people will see our lights and they have to stop. Um, Well, yeah, I mean, with the design it's, you know, over-engineering heat sinks. I mean, you know, heat is an enemy of electrical components, so making sure that's, um, that's addressed. Um, and so, yeah, I mean, it's, it's a different design, you know, a lot of companies out there doing parallel lighting bars, we've gone with a concentric square design, um, you know, to, to really make sure that we're maximizing how those photons are delivered and, um, Do you want to, uh, give us a little [00:21:00] detail on the controller that I'm using as well?
Sure. Yeah. So, um, another thing that sets us apart too, is, is really we, we have a tuneable target, you get it spectrum where most led companies out there, they have a dental spectrum, which is great. Um, you can save wattage that way when you don't need to deliver as much, um, lights to the plants. We take that a step further.
Okay. So that's with the tunability and you can do that through the controller. And so the controller is a, um, Is a way that you can, you know, control the light cycles so you can put in your light cycles. Um, but then you can also tune the spectrum in bringing out some of the reds, if you're vegging with this light.
And so by bringing out the reds, um, Nick, you touched on it before you're promoting that spike in the blue spectrum, um, for your vegetative plants, it reduces your wattage. Um, so instead of running at a full intensity, um, you're, you're tuning the spectrum. You're bringing [00:22:00] down that wattage as well. And then again, you're delivering the most important part is you're delivering, um, that spectrum to really promote, like during that vegetative cycle, you know, really tight inner nodes on your plant.
Was she, um, structure, big families like you were saying, Joe, or I'm sorry, Nick. Um, So, yeah, it's a, it's a, you can get really, really intricate with it modulates the sunrise and the sunset, Joe. So if you want to, if you missed the sunrise, Joe, you could just go into your growth plan and just experience the sunrise.
Yeah. You know, one of the things that people and we've had this conversation many times is that, um, in horticulture and. Controlled environment ag specifically, we're trying to, to cram the old square peg into a round hole, and that we're trying to get the plants to adapt to our technologies. Plants have evolved over millions of years to, to utilize.
Uh, for example, sun sunlight and sunlight is [00:23:00] not just, it just doesn't turn on and turn off it. Doesn't just follow a very simple pattern. Um, and the more we can mimic. That and provide what the plants need. Um, we're again, looking back to provide for the plants, not rather than trying to get the plants to perform for us.
So that's always a great approach and I'm glad to hear, um, that that's, that's the approach that, uh, they're following. So, um, tell us a little bit about, uh, how, if, if people are interested in your products, how can people see them, feel them learn about them? How, how can people, uh, get in touch and find out.
Absolutely. So, um, you know, our, our website is a great resource. Um, there's some, you know, really, um, you know, obviously the products are up there in the specs and everything. Um, some good articles on, um, you know, how to choose a grill light what's important. Um, but I would say, you know, the biggest thing people can do is go to their local hydroponics store.
[00:24:00] Um, you know, talk, talk to the people working, you know, at the stores, they're, they're really informative. Um, people, you know, a lot of stores will sell, um, we'll have our lights and stuff. Um, display lights can be found in, in stores as well. Um, I know we're talking about lighting, but undergrowth strong industries.
We've got, you know, several other lines, a gorilla grow tent. It's a very popular one. Um, we also have a nutrient line modus nutrients. And so, yeah, I'd say as far as, you know, information and getting more information, um, you know, the, the hydro stores are great places to do that. And we've got territory reps, um, you know, that are excited to talk to their hydro stores and get them excited about products and get them display lights out.
Um, so people can go into stores, um, check out what the lights can do. Um, okay. So you have a strong presence in the grocery stores across the country? Yes. Yeah. We've been selling and grocery stores for quite some time. Yeah. And that's grow strong industries that [00:25:00] come. Yes, grow strong industries.com it's um, right now it's, it's a landing page.
Um, but it will take you to all of our individual websites for our brands. Um, as we, you know, bring on more products, that's where it grows strong industries was as developed as our parent company. And so, um, you'll find our, all of our brands there. Fantastic. Any other products or any other services that you're looking to talk about?
No, I'm just, I'm really excited that you guys are, um, you know, that you're getting the firsthand experience, that the lights, again, that the results speak for themselves and looking forward to, you know, keeping conversations going, um, with Nick and, and working together well ended, uh, um, uh, HPS light is, um, is unbelievable as well.
Joe. No kidding. Yes, you do have that. And that's R D E pro series light, and that's under the gorilla grow tent of brands and it couldn't, and it can, you can control, uh, the X square and also this light with the same controller as well. There's two different, uh, separate, uh, [00:26:00] controls. Very cool. Well, the proof is always in the pudding, so I'm looking forward to getting some more data from Nick.
Uh, Nick always likes to send pictures and information and that's really helpful. And, and the more that people can see the performance and can kind of see tangible results, that's really what, uh, what people are looking for. So I'm really glad to have you, uh, being able to provide that. So, um, Jamie, thank you so much.
We really appreciate your time today. Uh, hopefully everyone learned a lot about. Horticultural LEDs and what grows strong industries brings to the table and, uh, certainly encourage you to, to reach out, take, check out their website. Um, I'm sure she would be happy to answer questions as well. Um, the information is really important.
So, um, any last parting shots for the, for the listeners, Jamie? Uh, yeah. In addition to what you said, um, not our lights and, um, in other products that we offer, um, at grow strong industries, we also offer an [00:27:00] amazing amount of support for growers. Um, so if you're, if you're growing with one of our products, if you're, you know, if you have questions, please reach out to us.
Um, whether that be given us a call or through our chat feature, um, we're, we're always happy to help, um, you know, and, and get people excited and educated about our products and, and growing in general. Very nice. Cool. All right. Well, thank you very much, everyone for your time. Uh, Jamie again, thank you for your time and we appreciate you taking some time to listen to us today and hopefully, um, if you have any questions or, or more comments, please feel free, obviously reach out and let us know.
And, uh, for my friend, Nick greens, and I I'd like to thank you again and have, uh, wish you all a very good day. Thanks very much everyone.