Plant Tape

Name

Plant Tape

Legal name

PlantTape

Website

http://www.planttape.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Transplanting Equipment

NAICS

Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112)

SIC

Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Transplanters (Vegetable, Tobacco, Rice) (AFAAABAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Robotic Planting, Thinning & Transplanting Systems (AFAAAGAC)

Keywords

• Automated transplanting systems
• Agricultural transplanting equipment
• Biodegradable seed tape
• Vegetable transplanting machinery
• Precision agriculture equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Salinas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Automated Transplanter Equipment Sales: PlantTape manufactures and sells automated transplanting equipment including the Original 3-Point Transplanter, Large Transplanter, Lightweight Transplanter, and Tomato Transplanter. Equipment is sold directly to growers through field sales demonstrations.
2. Sowing Services: PlantTape operates sowing facilities where customer seeds are inventoried, sown into proprietary tape material, and prepared for nursery germination. This is an integrated service component of the system.
3. Tape Material and Consumables: Ongoing supply of proprietary biodegradable tape material, nursery trays, and transplant bins to customers using the PlantTape system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PlantTape provides an automated transplanting system built around a proprietary biodegradable tape material that holds seeds and seedlings. The company manufactures and sells mechanical transplanters (Original 3-Point, Large, Lightweight, and Tomato Transplanters), operates sowing facilities that prepare customer seeds in tape, and supplies consumable tape, nursery trays, and bins to commercial growers of vegetables, tomatoes, hemp, and other crops.

Product overview

PlantTape is an integrated automated transplanting system built around its proprietary biodegradable tape that holds seeds and seedlings from sowing through transplanting. The system consists of four main transplanter products (Original 3-Point Transplanter, Large Transplanter, Lightweight Transplanter, and Tomato Transplanter), supported by sowing operations at four global facilities, reusable nursery trays and bins, and enhanced tape variants including Extended-Life Tape and additive-enhanced tapes. The transplanters range from the flagship mechanical 3-point model to the high-capacity Large Transplanter and purpose-built Tomato Transplanter, all sharing the core tape-based technology for crop-agnostic, precision transplanting at speeds of 2-7 acres per hour with only 3 crew members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Original 3-Point Transplanter The flagship 3-point hitch transplanter that is 100% mechanical without complex computer systems, actuators, or sensors. Features line-to-line spacing adjustable in-field, plant-to-plant spacing modified on the fly via touchscreen console, hydraulic-drive planter modules for accurate seedling placement, quarter-inch increment spacing adjustments, and a recommended speed of 4-6 mph (tested up to 20 mph). Designed for commercial vegetable, tomato, and hemp growers.
• The Large Transplanter

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• PlantelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2024Partnership with Plantel, a prominent agricultural nursery, for grand opening of new sowing line facility in Santa Maria, CA. Plantel grows seedlings using PlantTape system to serve regional growers. Facility enhances sowing capabilities and service delivery for customers in the region.
• Stokes SeedscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 August 2023Strategic partnership making Stokes Seeds the recommended seed supplier for PlantTape customers across eastern US and Canada. Stokes strategically warehouses seed at PlantTape's Livingston, Tennessee operation for efficient order processing and seeded tape transport to greenhouses. Stokes sales reps provide PlantTape specifications and recommendations for certified greenhouses.
• Tanimura & AntlecoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerTanimura & Antle acquired PlantTape technology in 2014. The company performed extensive R&D and testing before commercial release, integrating PlantTape into their own farming operations (200+ acres initially). Tanimura & Antle provided capital and commercial validation for PlantTape's North American expansion.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AgriNomix: Provides automated nursery and greenhouse equipment, including transplanting and plug-handling machinery for ornamental and produce nurseries. Most comparable peer in the automated nursery/transplanting workflow side of PlantTape's system.
• Holland Transplanter: US-based manufacturer of vegetable transplanters, including carousel-style transplanters used by commercial vegetable nurseries. Comparable offering for vegetable transplanting operations and competing for the same grower capital budgets as PlantTape.
• Mechanical Transplanter Company: Long-established US manufacturer of mechanical and semi-automatic transplanters for vegetables, tobacco, and greenhouse crops. Most direct competitor in the automated vegetable transplanting equipment category, sharing PlantTape's crop-agnostic mechanical philosophy.
• Rain-Flo Irrigation: Manufacturer of vegetable transplanters, water-wheel transplanters, and plastic mulch layers targeting commercial vegetable growers. Overlaps with PlantTape on the vegetable transplanting equipment category with broader irrigation/mulch portfolio.
• Specialty Transplanter Works (STW): Manufacturer of specialty transplanting equipment for vegetable, strawberry, and CBD/hemp growers. Closely aligned with PlantTape's hemp and vegetable customer base with comparable transplanter products.

Broad incumbents

• John Deere (Deere & Company): Global agricultural equipment leader with planting and seeding equipment portfolios. Represents the broad incumbent threat if the company extends automated transplanting capability into mainstream row-crop equipment categories.

Others

• Tanimura & Antle: Parent company of PlantTape and a major US fresh produce grower. Both a corporate parent and strategic customer/validator that integrated PlantTape into its own 200+ acre Salinas operation before commercial release.

Regional players

• Speedling Incorporated: Large US-based commercial vegetable transplant grower that operates its own nursery/transplant system. Overlaps with PlantTape as a competing commercial nursery for vegetable transplants, though using proprietary internal systems rather than selling equipment.

Emerging players

• Beekenkamp Verpakkingen / Beekenkamp Plants: European vegetable and ornamental plant nursery company with mechanized transplanting operations in the Netherlands and abroad. Comparable international nursery side of the value chain, partnered or competing for European growers in similar crop segments.
• Earthtec Solutions: Maker of the Paper Pot transplanter system, an alternative small-scale transplanting approach for diversified vegetable growers. Competes with PlantTape at the smaller/mid-scale end of the market with a different consumable story (paper chain pots vs. tape).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/planttape
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCRhTgOmb2Y3Lv8pbW0805sA/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/planttape
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/planttape-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/planttape

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plant Tape