This week, the American team of North American greenhouse builder Prospiant drove to a new address to work. The company has moved its U.S. headquarters and operations into a new facility in Cincinnati. It may only be a seven-minute drive from their old venue, but President Burk Metzger says the milestone reflects a much bigger change: increased operational capacity, ongoing consolidation, and a more collaborative and efficient way of working that fosters innovation — a development reflected across the North American greenhouse industry.
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A historic facility reached its limits
Greenhouse manufacturing has taken place at the former Prospiant Vine Street facility in Cincinnati since 1932. The location has history, but it came at a cost, as the accumulation of add-on buildings no longer supported efficient workflows. Combined with the company's growth — uniting the expertise of legacy companies Rough Brothers, Nexus Greenhouse Systems, and ThermoEnergy Solutions — and with a growing market, expanding reach, and increasingly complex projects, it was time for a new location. That location was found on Shona Drive.
A modern facility built for efficient production
The new facility, built in 2014, offers 105,000 square feet of production space with a wide-open footprint. "The unobstructed footprint allowed us to plan and implement a manufacturing facility with optimized work and material flows, inventory management, and logistics," says Burk. In addition to the integration of all U.S. manufacturing into one organized building, he expects the consolidation of teams and more time together in the office to influence how projects move through design, procurement, and manufacturing.
Organizational changes strengthen cross-pollination
It's all part of a broader movement: Prospiant has appointed Tony Abbas as the new VP of Sales and Business Development and consolidated its Controlled-Environment Agriculture (CEA) and Commercial Classic sales teams, actively pairing experienced salespeople with new colleagues. "We're able to expand their knowledge and add current-day market views. Increasing the scope results in cross-pollination: if somebody wants an automated bench system in their nursery, they can learn from our experiences in the lettuce projects, and vice versa. Before, we used to separate these activities, but now we can offer a complete solution and work more closely together."
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New connected-poly product line coming in 2026
Next year, Prospiant will introduce one of the results of this new business strategy: a new and more economical connected-poly product line for poly houses and wholesale nursery growers. This line is scheduled to launch in 2026.
Offices designed for collaboration
With collaboration in mind, the company invested in a full office build-out to support a flexible return-to-office structure. "Collaboration is the biggest thing. In Kingsville, Ontario, we have everyone together. You can see how often a project manager walks into design and then into purchasing. It's much easier, more efficient, and more direct than having to set up an online meeting," Burk says.
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Kingsville facility becomes a long-term asset
In addition to the Cincinnati relocation, the company also purchased the facility in Kingsville, Canada, which it had previously rented, further demonstrating parent company Gibraltar's commitment to Prospiant and the greenhouse industry. Prospiant is also upgrading and expanding the Kingsville facility and adding a powder-coating facility. "There is not a lot of capacity for the size of pieces we need," Burk explains, which is why Prospiant will also open its doors to external suppliers and operate the new division as a separate business branch, opening in February 2026.
Ontario picks up speed while U.S. growth remains limited
The move comes amid changing conditions in North American controlled-environment agriculture, with the Ontario industry gaining momentum. "Growers continue to expand," says Burk, highlighting the fully automated Mucci Kings One Lettuce project in Kingsville that they recently completed as an example—and a sign of more large lettuce and vine crop projects under discussion in Ontario. These developments are mainly driven by workforce availability and distribution efficiency, thanks to the greenhouse hub's role as a logistics concentration hub.
While established operators with long-term vision and existing market access can expand in the U.S., and interest in shifting produce production from outdoors to indoors remains, investors have been reluctant to invest in U.S. high-tech CEA in recent years. Although there is movement from new industries, such as the data-center sector exploring heat-integration models, the expansion rate remains limited compared to Canada.
"The main reason why Ontario and not the U.S. is labor. Workforce availability leads to strategic decisions to keep investing in Canada over the U.S.," Burk confirms. He explains that the lack of year-round labor availability puts constraints on the development of the U.S. industry, further compounded by political changes affecting workforce availability.
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New address
Prospiant's new address is: 7108 Shona Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45237
Customers and partners are kindly asked to update their records with the new address. All existing phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact information will remain unchanged.
For more information:
Prospiant
7108 Shona Drive
Cincinnati OH 45237
[email protected]
www.prospiant.com
