Ontario Plants Propagation

What Ontario Plants Propagation does

Ontario Plants Propagation Limited, founded in 2002 in St. Thomas, Ontario, is North America's leading producer of young plants (transplants) for commercial greenhouse growers. The company propagates more than 60 million young plants annually across two high-tech Ontario facilities totaling 49 acres of glass (St. Thomas 36 acres; Glencoe 13 acres opened October 2024, with an additional 36 acres reported under development). Its core product set spans tomato, cucumber, and bell pepper young plants for hydroponic and organic greenhouse operators, with an expanding soft-fruit platform covering strawberry and raspberry young plants built around tissue culture.

The technical platform combines controlled environment agriculture infrastructure with proprietary process technology: Dalsem Air semi-closed greenhouse systems, hybrid LED/HPS lighting, automated grafting robotics, in-house tissue culture for strawberries, ATP and PCR laboratory testing, pest-exclusion netting monitored by in-house entomologists, and full traceability from genetics through delivery. Ontario Plants complements its own infrastructure with research collaboration through the Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (OHCEAC) Consortium alongside The Ohio State University and the USDA, and with affiliated Dalsem and Intelligent Growth Solutions technology within COFRA Holding's Sustainable Food Group.

The business operates as a privately held, B2B direct-delivery supplier. Revenue is generated by selling young plants to greenhouse growers, with pricing negotiated individually rather than publicly disclosed. COFRA Holding, a Swiss family-owned conglomerate, acquired the company in April 2022, integrating it with Dalsem (greenhouse systems) and Intelligent Growth Solutions (vertical farming). The company is led by President & CEO Mathieu van de Sande (appointed June 2023) and serves customers across Canada and the United States under an organic certificate for its production operations.

Name

Ontario Plants Propagation

Legal name

Ontario Plants Propagation Limited

Website

https://ontarioplants.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ontario Plants Propagation is a privately held Canadian propagator that produces more than 60 million young plants annually across two 49-acre high-tech Ontario greenhouse facilities, supplying hydroponic and organic tomato, cucumber, pepper, strawberry, and raspberry starter plants to commercial greenhouse growers in Canada and the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Greenhouse Plant Propagation

NAICS

Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142), Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production (1114)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Propagation & Seedling/Plug Production (Vegetable Transplants, Tissue-Culture Liners) (AFAGAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nursery Stock & Propagule Production (Cuttings, Rootstocks, Grafts) (AFAGAIAO)

Keywords

• Greenhouse young plants
• Plant propagation services
• Vegetable transplants
• Soft fruit propagation
• Controlled environment agriculture

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Thomas

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Young plant sales to greenhouse growers: Ontario Plants propagates and sells high-quality young plants (transplants, starter plants) to commercial greenhouse growers across North America. The company produces tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, strawberries, and raspberries as young plants that are delivered to hydroponic and organic greenhouse operators.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ontario Plants Propagation propagates and sells high-quality young plants (transplants and starter plants) to commercial greenhouse growers across North America. The company produces tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, strawberries, and raspberries as young plants using controlled environment agriculture in two high-tech Ontario facilities (St. Thomas and Glencoe) totaling 49 acres of growing space and producing more than 60 million young plants annually.

Product overview

Ontario Plants Propagation operates as North America's leading producer of young plants for greenhouse growers, delivering high-quality, productive young plants across two greenhouse facilities in Ontario (Glencoe and St. Thomas) totaling 49 acres of growing space. The product portfolio spans two main categories: vegetable young plants (tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers) and soft fruit young plants (strawberries and raspberries). The company builds its operations around a propagation platform focused on consistency, biosecurity, and system-level control. All products originate from clean plant material and tissue culture, supported by strict biosecurity, controlled environments, and standardized processes. Quality is positioned as an integrated system attribute built into the production system from genetics and upstream inputs through to delivery, with full traceability from origin through to customer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tomato Young Plants High-quality, productive tomato young plants propagated for commercial greenhouse growers across North America using controlled environment agriculture.
• Cucumber Young Plants High-quality, productive cucumber young plants propagated for commercial greenhouse growers, leveraging the company's 49 acres of high-tech greenhouse capacity.
• Bell Pepper Young Plants High-quality, productive bell pepper young plants propagated for commercial greenhouse growers as part of the company's vegetable propagation platform serving growers in Canada and the United States.
• Strawberry Young Plants Strawberry young plants propagated through tissue culture for greenhouse strawberry growers, focusing on clean starting material, genetic consistency, and disease resilience.
• Raspberry Young Plants Raspberry young plants propagated for greenhouse soft-fruit growers in North America, with focus on clean starting material, greater genetic consistency, and improved disease resilience.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% rainwater capture and reuse
• +4 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (OHCEAC) ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026Ontario Plants joined the OHCEAC Consortium, a public-private partnership established in 2022 by The Ohio State University to advance controlled environment agriculture research across North America. The consortium comprises 10 industry members and 30 scientists and engineers. Ontario Plants' membership enables collaboration with Ohio State researchers and USDA scientists focused on high-value transplant production, particularly for strawberries and soft fruit. The company views this alignment as supporting strategic priorities around advanced propagation systems, plant health, and uniformity at scale.
• The Ohio State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough OHCEAC membership, Ontario Plants collaborates with faculty from The Ohio State University including Dr. Chieri Kubota and her research team. The university established OHCEAC in 2022 to support research collaborations critical for advancing North American controlled environment agriculture. The collaboration focuses on connecting academic research with real-world commercial production.
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough OHCEAC Consortium membership, Ontario Plants collaborates with USDA scientists alongside Ohio State researchers. The consortium brings together university researchers and government scientists to advance controlled environment agriculture, with focus on high-value transplant production for CEA growers.
• DalsemcoreTechnology or IntegrationDalsem, a high-tech greenhouse developer based in the Netherlands, was acquired by COFRA Holding and works with Ontario Plants to create a trusted ecosystem for growers. Dalsem supplies the Air semi-closed greenhouse system technology used at Ontario Plants' Glencoe facility, combining greenhouse development expertise with propagation capabilities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rijk Zwaan: Dutch family-owned vegetable breeding and seed company that also produces high-quality young plants for professional greenhouse growers globally. Directly comparable to Ontario Plants in target customers (commercial hydroponic and organic greenhouse operators), crop focus (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers), and B2B propagation model.
• Enza Zaden: Dutch vegetable seed breeder that supplies young plants to greenhouse growers worldwide. Comparable to Ontario Plants in serving commercial greenhouse producers of tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers with high-quality starter plants, with overlapping biosecurity and traceability requirements.
• De Ruiter (Bayer Crop Science Vegetable Seeds): Now part of Bayer, De Ruiter is a leading breeder and propagator of vegetable young plants for greenhouse tomato and pepper production. Direct competitor to Ontario Plants in serving large-scale North American and European greenhouse operators with high-quality transplants.
• Sakata Seed America: Japanese-headquartered breeder with a strong North American vegetable seed and young plant business. Competes with Ontario Plants in supplying greenhouse growers with high-quality transplants of tomatoes, peppers, and cucurbits across the continent.
• VoloAgri Group: North American vegetable seedling producer serving greenhouse and field growers across the U.S. and Mexico. Comparable to Ontario Plants in propagation-only business model and supply of vegetable transplants to commercial greenhouse operators, with overlap in tomato, pepper, and cucumber crops.

Broad incumbents

• Syngenta Vegetable Seeds: Global crop input giant with a substantial vegetable seeds and young plants business serving greenhouse and open-field growers. Overlaps with Ontario Plants in supplying high-quality vegetable transplants to commercial growers but operates a much broader portfolio across seeds, crop protection, and traits.

Emerging players

• Dümmen Orange: Dutch leader in ornamental and vegetative propagation supplying young plants globally. While primarily focused on ornamentals, its propagation platform, tissue culture capabilities, and greenhouse-based production model are directly comparable to Ontario Plants' technology stack, with potential crossover into edible crops.
• Beekenkamp Plants: Dutch family-owned propagation specialist producing young plants across ornamentals, vegetables, and soft fruits for professional growers. Comparable to Ontario Plants in B2B young plant propagation model and focus on greenhouse growers, though with a stronger European footprint.

Others

• Dalsem: Dutch high-tech greenhouse developer and sister company under COFRA Holding's Sustainable Food Group. Not a direct competitor but a strategic partner and supplier of the Air semi-closed greenhouse technology used at Ontario Plants' Glencoe facility, with shared ownership enabling technology and customer ecosystem alignment.

Regional players

• ForemostCo: North American young plant producer focused on tropical ornamental and foliage liners for greenhouse and nursery customers. Comparable to Ontario Plants in propagation-only business model and B2B supply of starter plants to commercial growers, but serves different crop segments and primarily tropical/sub-tropical geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Ontario Plants Propagation