Todd Miller:

I'm Todd Miller of Isaiah Industries, manufacturer

Todd Miller:

of specialty metal roofing and other building materials.

Todd Miller:

And today my co host is none other than Ethan Young, the chill guy

Todd Miller:

who's always fun to have on here.

Todd Miller:

How you doing, Ethan?

Ethan Young:

I'm doing pretty good, Todd.

Ethan Young:

Thanks for that.

Ethan Young:

How are you doing?

Todd Miller:

I'm doing well, also.

Todd Miller:

I'm glad to be here today and get, get this show recorded.

Todd Miller:

I've been looking forward to this one.

Todd Miller:

So once again, we are doing our challenge words where both Ethan

Todd Miller:

and I and our guest, have a.

Todd Miller:

top secret word that we have been challenged to work into

Todd Miller:

the conversation somehow.

Todd Miller:

So our audience can be listening to see if you can figure out

Todd Miller:

what our challenge words were.

Todd Miller:

And at the end of the show, we will tell you what our words were and whether we

Todd Miller:

work them into the conversation or not.

Todd Miller:

So you good to go, Mr.

Todd Miller:

Young.

Ethan Young:

I am Todd.

Ethan Young:

Let's do it.

Todd Miller:

Let's do it.

Todd Miller:

So we cover a lot of ground here on Construction Disruption from design to

Todd Miller:

tech, and sometimes we dig into products.

Todd Miller:

Sometimes we look to different types of training.

Todd Miller:

In fact, we've built quite an archive of past shows, but today's show is

Todd Miller:

a topic that the more I dug into it, the more interested I became in it.

Todd Miller:

And that is the proliferation of greenhouses, grow houses, sun chambers.

Todd Miller:

Ultimately more greenhouses are beneficial to our food chain,

Todd Miller:

as well as to other things.

Todd Miller:

And today our guest is an expert in that area.

Todd Miller:

Our guest today is Josh Holleb.

Todd Miller:

Josh is the Systems Integration Specialist at Ceres Greenhouse

Todd Miller:

Solutions based in Boulder, Colorado.

Todd Miller:

And he has the full scoop for us on how these structures, work, how they are

Todd Miller:

impacting construction and our world.

Todd Miller:

Josh, welcome to Construction Disruption.

Todd Miller:

Pleasure to have you here with us today.

Josh Holleb:

Thanks for having me, happy to be here.

Todd Miller:

Good deal.

Todd Miller:

So let's just dig into it.

Todd Miller:

So tell us what Ceres does.

Todd Miller:

I mean, I understand that you folks engineer, various types of

Todd Miller:

what I'll call growth structures.

Todd Miller:

But do you also supply the parts?

Todd Miller:

Do you get involved in construction?

Todd Miller:

What is the scope of work that, that Ceres does?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, we are heavily a design company, um, we do a lot of

Josh Holleb:

engineering work, so we do detailed design, engineering, we also supply

Josh Holleb:

materials, and then we also support in construction, so we'll ship the majority

Josh Holleb:

of your building to you, and then we will help you build it, but we don't

Josh Holleb:

build it, um, becoming a construction company is a whole nother level and for

Josh Holleb:

really big projects we will take on a GC and manage the entire project, but

Josh Holleb:

for the most part we are designing, supplying, and then aiding and guiding

Todd Miller:

So on the supply of product for the structures, I mean,

Todd Miller:

you're, are you doing some of the prefabrication or having some of

Todd Miller:

that done or what does that look

Josh Holleb:

We are not a manufacturer so we are we are very

Josh Holleb:

much a design engineering company.

Josh Holleb:

We do a lot of R&D as well, but we do not have any like on the ground, you know,

Josh Holleb:

rigid manufacturing Um, A it's expensive to get into and B kind of it it kind of

Josh Holleb:

put you on a path that you can't really get off of if you own a certain kind

Josh Holleb:

of manufacturing type of manufacturing.

Josh Holleb:

So we have a bunch of manufacturing partners, but it

Josh Holleb:

allows us to be really fluid.

Josh Holleb:

So things change we can find a new partner.

Josh Holleb:

And so that's been pretty great for us

Todd Miller:

That probably allows you to be sort of regionalized, too,

Todd Miller:

based upon your various manufacturing

Josh Holleb:

you'd be, you'd be surprised.

Josh Holleb:

Um, but yes, it does.

Josh Holleb:

Um, if we're doing a West Coast project, have, uh, manufacturers closer to West

Josh Holleb:

Coast versus an East Coast project.

Josh Holleb:

So you save some in shipping costs, but it's, it's minor.

Todd Miller:

So I'm curious I mean a lot of our audience members are

Todd Miller:

folks in construction and I mean some design but a lot of construction.

Todd Miller:

Is there any way for them to even get involved with some of your

Todd Miller:

structures as you erectors or builders or what does that look like?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, um, we have a ongoing list that's constantly

Josh Holleb:

growing of local erectors.

Josh Holleb:

Um, smaller projects can be just any general contractor, larger projects

Josh Holleb:

we look for steel specific builders.

Josh Holleb:

Um, but we're using light or heavy gauge steel framing, um, sandwich

Josh Holleb:

panel, insulated metal panels, you know, we basically, when we designed

Josh Holleb:

our product, we looked for what was available and what people knew how to

Josh Holleb:

build as well as what works for our need.

Josh Holleb:

So I, I, I, I was a general contractor residential for a decade.

Josh Holleb:

And so I very much in the mindset of not only is this a cool design, but is it

Josh Holleb:

buildable and is it efficient to build?

Josh Holleb:

Because sometimes in design, you know, building is a secondary thought.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, that happens sometimes.

Todd Miller:

You're right.

Todd Miller:

Sometimes you get a little carried away with the design and,

Todd Miller:

oh, this isn't too practical.

Josh Holleb:

So, so oftentimes our, our buildings, you know, sometimes we were

Josh Holleb:

like, can I, can we make it a little more custom or appealing, and we can,

Josh Holleb:

but it's not, it's not uh, main focus.

Josh Holleb:

The function, the focus is efficiency, effectiveness, and, and

Josh Holleb:

ease of building and maintaining.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, love it.

Todd Miller:

So, Ceres, who your company is named after, was, I had to

Todd Miller:

look this up, I confess, was a Roman goddess of agriculture.

Todd Miller:

And, you know, that was chosen for your company name.

Todd Miller:

I'm kind of curious, how does having that as your company name kind

Todd Miller:

of impact, the overall ethos or philosophy and culture of your company?

Josh Holleb:

I think if anything, it puts it in perspective.

Josh Holleb:

Um, all we're doing here is trying to help grow food and people have been

Josh Holleb:

doing that for a really long time.

Josh Holleb:

And so, you know, hopefully we're just kicking the ball down

Josh Holleb:

the road a little bit farther.

Josh Holleb:

And hopefully the ball rolls a little bit better because we're efficiency minded.

Josh Holleb:

Um, but really we're just part of a much bigger story of how

Josh Holleb:

we get food to the people.

Todd Miller:

That's cool.

Todd Miller:

And something most of us don't think about very often, that's for sure.

Ethan Young:

If I could chime in here too a ceres is actually

Ethan Young:

where we get the word cereal.

Josh Holleb:

That's right.

Todd Miller:

Oh,

Ethan Young:

Yeah that's another little tie in there for you.

Todd Miller:

Gosh, you're teaching me all kinds of things.

Todd Miller:

I thought we got serial from serial killer, but, you know,

Todd Miller:

I don't know, maybe not.

Ethan Young:

I

Todd Miller:

So I believe Josh, you were the company's second

Todd Miller:

employee after the founder.

Todd Miller:

I'm kind of curious.

Todd Miller:

I mean, that was 12 years ago.

Todd Miller:

What sort of growth and change have you seen and is the company on the

Todd Miller:

path that you envisioned 12 years ago, or did it have to change some?

Todd Miller:

Cause I know sometimes businesses are that way.

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, it was, it was, it was just two of us.

Josh Holleb:

Um, my partner and the founder, he's a PhD chemical engineer.

Josh Holleb:

Um, he's a really, you know, a brilliant guy and an amazing guy.

Josh Holleb:

Um, and that, and that's kind of what brought me in, but I was pretty

Josh Holleb:

deep into growing in greenhouses at the time when I met him, but I had

Josh Holleb:

a completely different skillset.

Josh Holleb:

And so I said, you know, I can do things that you're not doing.

Josh Holleb:

You're coming up with all these great ideas.

Josh Holleb:

I can build and do practical things.

Josh Holleb:

And I know plants.

Josh Holleb:

And we worked together, you know, in the home office at his house, I was

Josh Holleb:

just with his family for several years.

Josh Holleb:

Um, and now, you know, we've been up to 30 something people.

Josh Holleb:

We're at 25 or 28 employees right now.

Josh Holleb:

So it's quite different in the day to day, but we started doing little

Josh Holleb:

greenhouses in people's backyards.

Josh Holleb:

They slowly got bigger.

Josh Holleb:

Cannabis legalized.

Josh Holleb:

I, through building, had some experience in cannabis because I was helping

Josh Holleb:

people build facilities for cannabis.

Josh Holleb:

So we never really saw that coming, but but now where we're at is

Josh Holleb:

finally we've designed our kit house.

Josh Holleb:

We have a, we have a residential kit house.

Josh Holleb:

Um, that was always part of the goal 8 years ago, but we couldn't

Josh Holleb:

do it then and we can do it now.

Josh Holleb:

So the path, while bumpy and weird kind of is going where we thought

Josh Holleb:

it was going to go, but we're also doing some really large projects.

Josh Holleb:

We've done big canvas projects.

Josh Holleb:

We're doing really large, ag projects now that we never saw coming.

Josh Holleb:

And so the progression of our work has been very cool.

Josh Holleb:

So some, what we expected and some, not so much.

Todd Miller:

So I'm curious, what sort of geographic

Todd Miller:

footprint have you served so far?

Todd Miller:

Are you shipping product and working with structures all

Todd Miller:

over or what's that look like?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, I mean, you know, we're Colorado based, our

Josh Holleb:

first few projects were in Colorado.

Josh Holleb:

Our product works really well in northern climates, and so we basically we've

Josh Holleb:

built in all over the United States.

Josh Holleb:

We've built, in Canada, a fair amount, we're doing commercial

Josh Holleb:

lettuce grows in Canada.

Josh Holleb:

We can grow year round lettuce, no problem, locally in Canada.

Josh Holleb:

We've got some greenhouses in Alaska.

Josh Holleb:

We're now working on, projects in Portugal and Greece.

Josh Holleb:

We have some of our systems that we've engineered are in Bahrain,

Josh Holleb:

And now we're starting more and more, to work in climates like in

Josh Holleb:

the Middle East, Kuwait currently.

Josh Holleb:

You know, like, like a like a camel, our greenhouses can be sealed and reuse

Josh Holleb:

their own water for a very long time.

Josh Holleb:

So with really minimal input they can go a really long distance.

Josh Holleb:

And so that that works well in the Middle East.

Josh Holleb:

We also have cool new glazing technology that we're using that

Josh Holleb:

can passively cool a greenhouse.

Josh Holleb:

So we're designing for hotter and hotter temperatures based on what the

Josh Holleb:

environment is doing, and in places like the Middle East where they need

Josh Holleb:

food, but they can't really grow it.

Josh Holleb:

We can recirculate water and reduce heat with, you know, no energy inputs.

Josh Holleb:

And so we're starting to see our, our market change and expand

Josh Holleb:

in, in pretty interesting ways.

Todd Miller:

So tell us a little bit about the glazing technology, the glazing

Todd Miller:

that you're using, because I understand that kind of differentiates you from

Todd Miller:

a lot of your, of your competition.

Josh Holleb:

Yeah.

Josh Holleb:

a lot of greenhouse manufacturers, especially in the, in the U S

Josh Holleb:

use a polycarbonate, which is, which, which degrades with UV.

Josh Holleb:

So that usually has a UV blocker on the outside.

Josh Holleb:

which allows the polycarbonate to last a long time, but it, it takes away the

Josh Holleb:

UV, which is actually something that is a stressor for pests and pathogens.

Josh Holleb:

And so it's good to let it into the greenhouse.

Josh Holleb:

Plants live outside and they use UV.

Josh Holleb:

it's a stressor and it's oftentimes a positive stressor, stressor for them, but

Josh Holleb:

it limits mildews and bugs and things.

Josh Holleb:

So we've, we've strayed from the polycarbonate in our higher

Josh Holleb:

productivity greenhouses.

Josh Holleb:

we have an acrylic glazing that we use.

Josh Holleb:

It's, UV transmissive.

Josh Holleb:

And now we have an ETFE film, which, is we import it.

Josh Holleb:

And it is, it is a ethyl fluoride, don't even get me started on what it is, but

Josh Holleb:

it's a, it's a tensioned film, that allows light and UV to pass through it very well.

Josh Holleb:

And now we're starting to add added technologies onto it where we can infrared

Josh Holleb:

block or infrared absorb, so we can still get the light in, but not the heat.

Josh Holleb:

And so we're starting to use that, in single and multi layer which is a real

Josh Holleb:

leap in greenhouse glazing technology.

Josh Holleb:

They use it in Europe somewhat, but we've been pushing it a little bit

Josh Holleb:

harder here because we have more extreme weather events than they do in Europe.

Todd Miller:

Pretty amazing stuff.

Todd Miller:

Absolutely.

Todd Miller:

I'm curious, the end use of your greenhouses.

Todd Miller:

I mean, food, cannabis, you mentioned the at home kit,

Todd Miller:

which I want to hear more about.

Todd Miller:

How does your business typically break down as far as what

Todd Miller:

those end uses look like?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, you know, per project, it's, it's probably

Josh Holleb:

predominantly residential, small commercial, on a number of basis.

Josh Holleb:

A lot of people just want to grow food and, you know, especially during COVID,

Josh Holleb:

it was kind of wild, but, but we do a lot of smaller greenhouses, you know,

Josh Holleb:

we have small kits, 18 foot by 30 foot, you know, which for a backyard is

Josh Holleb:

pretty significant, but in the scheme of things, it's small, A lot of 3,

Josh Holleb:

000 square foot, single greenhouses for small commercial growers who are

Josh Holleb:

kind of feeding their community in places where there's not great food,

Josh Holleb:

Revenue wise, you know, it's, a single big project puts all those to shame.

Josh Holleb:

We have large ag projects, all over the U.

Josh Holleb:

S.

Josh Holleb:

And, and we have a bunch of big cannabis projects all over the U.

Josh Holleb:

S.

Josh Holleb:

Our, our cannabis growers are in Massachusetts, they're in Maine, they're,

Josh Holleb:

they're all over the place, places where you wouldn't be able to grow in

Josh Holleb:

a greenhouse year round and they're just cranking out product year round.

Todd Miller:

Interesting.

Todd Miller:

Well, tell us a little bit more.

Todd Miller:

You mentioned earlier that you have a, you know, a home kit.

Todd Miller:

I think you called it, you know, where it's a house with a greenhouse.

Todd Miller:

Tell us a little bit what that looks like and who, who is attracted to that?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, well, so it's, it's a, well, it doesn't feel new to

Josh Holleb:

me, but it's a new product for us.

Josh Holleb:

We've been working on it for a few years when we had time.

Josh Holleb:

It's called Vesta, which is the goddess of hearth and home.

Josh Holleb:

We got a theme here.

Josh Holleb:

And it's, it's a passive inspired house, with an attached greenhouse.

Josh Holleb:

I don't know if you guys know what an earthship is, it

Josh Holleb:

might be more of a west thing.

Josh Holleb:

But, an earthship is a design that came out of New Mexico.

Josh Holleb:

It's rammed earth into tires, and you know, it's this whole crazy thing.

Josh Holleb:

And it's cheap to build, but it takes years.

Josh Holleb:

But it has an attached greenhouse, it heats it, and it stays cool, and all this.

Josh Holleb:

So, our mindset was, how do we take what we have, steel frame, and Insulated

Josh Holleb:

panels, same supplier, same supply chain that we're using every day for

Josh Holleb:

our greenhouses and change the shape.

Josh Holleb:

So it's passive, passive style house.

Josh Holleb:

We have appropriate overhangs for shading in the summer on the south

Josh Holleb:

facing windows, but allows heat and warmth in, in the winter, attached

Josh Holleb:

greenhouse that will heat it in the winter and allows you to grow food.

Josh Holleb:

And, we've built one and it's amazing.

Josh Holleb:

It's just about done.

Josh Holleb:

And, you know, you learn a lot when you build the first one, but we did pretty

Josh Holleb:

good considering the clients happy.

Josh Holleb:

We're happy.

Josh Holleb:

And now we make some tweaks.

Josh Holleb:

We're about to build the 2nd 1.

Josh Holleb:

But it's a cool remedy for, excessive housing costs and construction

Josh Holleb:

is just very expensive right now.

Josh Holleb:

And so this, the kit is relatively cheap.

Josh Holleb:

It's pre engineered and it's fast to build.

Josh Holleb:

I mean, we are dried in shell of a house in 3 weeks.

Josh Holleb:

Probably.

Josh Holleb:

Yeah.

Josh Holleb:

And it's super efficient.

Josh Holleb:

So once it's built, you're off, you know, you're, you're going

Josh Holleb:

to have small bills, if any bills for the duration of the house.

Josh Holleb:

And it's a steel house.

Josh Holleb:

So we assume 50, 100 year house.

Josh Holleb:

So it's a cool experiment that we're just learning about.

Todd Miller:

Well, I love it.

Todd Miller:

I mean, I saw it on your website too.

Todd Miller:

And, you know, I'm thinking home sweet home.

Todd Miller:

I mean, that's, that's, it's a great concept.

Todd Miller:

So another thing I heard you say on a podcast that really interested me

Todd Miller:

or, or, you know, struck me was that commercially grown food typically

Todd Miller:

travels 1500 miles from where it's grown to where it's consumed.

Todd Miller:

And, that, that was just pretty staggering for me.

Todd Miller:

And I know in some cases, it's probably 4 or 5 thousand miles if it's coming

Todd Miller:

out of South America or something.

Todd Miller:

But, what do you see as problems with food having to travel that far?

Todd Miller:

And why does more local growing make sense to you personally and as a business?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's kind of endless.

Josh Holleb:

I get to do a lot of traveling.

Josh Holleb:

And I've seen it, you know, I've been in Yuma, Arizona in the winter where

Josh Holleb:

all the lettuce comes from all winter.

Josh Holleb:

And it's crazy to see it, but then that lettuce has to move.

Josh Holleb:

so a, you know, we see it with COVID.

Josh Holleb:

We've seen it, you know, if there's a natural disaster, what

Josh Holleb:

if the lettuce can't get there?

Josh Holleb:

Then you don't have lettuce.

Josh Holleb:

You know, it's like, you're just a little bit helpless.

Josh Holleb:

The same goes for tomatoes or something that are coming out of Mexico.

Josh Holleb:

they're harvested early.

Josh Holleb:

They're not so good.

Josh Holleb:

I'm huge advocate for eating with the seasons.

Josh Holleb:

So maybe we shouldn't be eating tomatoes in the middle of winter, but

Josh Holleb:

we can, and we can do it by growing them closer to home, in greenhouses.

Josh Holleb:

And so I, I've got, I've just, I have local growers, like I

Josh Holleb:

was just in, outside of Madison, Wisconsin, small farm, organic farm.

Josh Holleb:

She grows lettuce all winter and sells to restaurants, the chefs love her.

Josh Holleb:

I mean, she's the only one producing it, and she doesn't heat the greenhouse, and

Josh Holleb:

she doesn't add lights to the greenhouse.

Josh Holleb:

She could grow more faster if she did this, more inputs, but she doesn't

Josh Holleb:

and she's still able to do it.

Josh Holleb:

And, and, you know, when the chefs are like, I want your lettuce, you

Josh Holleb:

know, you're doing something right.

Josh Holleb:

and then the other thing that like, it's harder to quantify is nutrition.

Josh Holleb:

I mean, food matters and food matters because we like the way it

Josh Holleb:

tastes, but it fuels our bodies.

Josh Holleb:

And, uh, early harvested tomato out of Mexico is less nutritious

Josh Holleb:

than a, you know, fully ripened on the vine tomato that you got from

Josh Holleb:

15 miles away from the local farm.

Josh Holleb:

And at some point, you know, food is medicine and, and we're going to have to

Josh Holleb:

start realizing that and and where the food comes from and how long it takes

Josh Holleb:

to get to you really is going to matter.

Todd Miller:

Wow.

Todd Miller:

Well, well you also talk a lot, and I think this kinda leads into that,

Todd Miller:

this sense of community that can happen when food is grown locally.

Todd Miller:

And, and I know you even have a couple of videos where, people who've bought

Todd Miller:

the greenhouses talk about how that that community has sprung up around it.

Todd Miller:

Can you expand a little bit on that, you know, what, what that sense of

Todd Miller:

community means or how that happens?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, I mean, people want to, people are curious about where their

Josh Holleb:

food comes from and when they can go see it, it's very cool for everybody.

Josh Holleb:

I mean, we see it more and more now, with schools.

Josh Holleb:

So we do a lot of like, a lot of elementary schools, high schools.

Josh Holleb:

We're actually in Boulder building a new greenhouse at the main community garden

Josh Holleb:

site, which is absolutely the coolest for us because, people garden there.

Josh Holleb:

They have their little, you know, whatever 10 foot by 10 foot community

Josh Holleb:

garden plots and now they can see this next level of gardening and

Josh Holleb:

it's just really about education.

Josh Holleb:

And so we've learned that like when the kids are in the greenhouses.

Josh Holleb:

It truly is a different world, but they are focused.

Josh Holleb:

They are excited about what they're doing, and it's amazing to see it.

Ethan Young:

So you talked about some of the benefits of just kind

Ethan Young:

of introducing people to growing and growing in greenhouses and stuff.

Ethan Young:

What's kind of the comparison from using a greenhouse garden from just typical,

Ethan Young:

like outdoor growing, like you're talking about, like community garden plot.

Josh Holleb:

I'm personally a huge advocate of having outside

Josh Holleb:

garden growing food outside.

Josh Holleb:

You know, in most parts of the US and most parts of the world were season

Josh Holleb:

seasonally limited to when we can grow outside and what we can grow outside.

Josh Holleb:

And so what we can do with the greenhouse, because these are built

Josh Holleb:

environments is we can, depending on how many systems we're putting into

Josh Holleb:

each greenhouse, some have very few, some have a lot, we can really control

Josh Holleb:

the environment to a certain extent.

Josh Holleb:

So, in a, in a place that's too hot, we can cool it down potentially

Josh Holleb:

to grow lettuce where you normally wouldn't be able to grow lettuce.

Josh Holleb:

You can't grow lettuce in Yuma, Arizona in July, but you can in January.

Josh Holleb:

and so it's not greenhouse better than outdoor.

Josh Holleb:

You know, what we see mostly with outdoor is we are not a soil focused culture.

Josh Holleb:

Soil health is, is food health.

Josh Holleb:

We grow at such large scale that we're really depleting this soil and then we

Josh Holleb:

spray it with stuff to make it grow again.

Josh Holleb:

And so it's a whole cycle and it's a whole other conversation.

Josh Holleb:

But to be able to supplement with, your own little greenhouse or community

Josh Holleb:

greenhouse, is, is a really nice way to diversify where your food comes from.

Todd Miller:

I want to talk a little bit more about the construction

Todd Miller:

and we, you know, we mentioned because we work with a lot of guys

Todd Miller:

who do metal work and so forth.

Todd Miller:

So, you know, what's that learning curve for someone to build a greenhouse

Todd Miller:

that's never built one before that, you know, is typically using two by

Todd Miller:

fours and, all that type of stuff.

Todd Miller:

I mean, can they pick up on this fairly quickly?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, it's, it's pretty straightforward.

Josh Holleb:

I would, I would actually say it's easier than traditional construction.

Josh Holleb:

For the most part, we're using a 14 gauge steel frame that goes

Josh Holleb:

together with bolts or tech screws.

Josh Holleb:

It's pretty straightforward.

Josh Holleb:

Sandwich panel is a screwed on sandwich panel.

Josh Holleb:

It's caulk and panels.

Josh Holleb:

when you put up a sandwich panel, the interior is finished, the installation

Josh Holleb:

is done, the exterior is finished.

Josh Holleb:

It's, it's pretty awesome.

Josh Holleb:

The roof of our greenhouses, That's not glazing.

Josh Holleb:

Same deal.

Josh Holleb:

It's interior is finished with metal.

Josh Holleb:

The insulation's on and your metal roof is installed, all

Josh Holleb:

with a single panel placement.

Josh Holleb:

So that's easy.

Josh Holleb:

The unique part is usually the glazing installation.

Josh Holleb:

That's where a contractor is usually like, I've never done this before.

Josh Holleb:

And, and we have detailed drawings and we have architects on staff.

Josh Holleb:

We've been doing this for long enough where we're learning

Josh Holleb:

what they need to see.

Josh Holleb:

And then we walk everyone through the process as well.

Josh Holleb:

So in general for construction, it's pretty straightforward.

Josh Holleb:

Water in, power in, build the shell, install the systems.

Josh Holleb:

For construction, it's pretty easy.

Josh Holleb:

It's never easy.

Josh Holleb:

Like boots on the ground.

Josh Holleb:

It's never easy, but for construction it's relatively easy.

Todd Miller:

That's good stuff.

Todd Miller:

Well, are there any trends that you're seeing or potential

Todd Miller:

changes on the horizon?

Todd Miller:

I mean, I'm not even sure what this might relate to, but things that you see are

Todd Miller:

going to impact the greenhouse industry.

Todd Miller:

I mean, obviously, cannabis has been a huge impact.

Todd Miller:

Anything else that you're seeing having an impact?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah.

Josh Holleb:

I mean, cannabis was interesting because it was a bunch of money.

Josh Holleb:

quickly, which isn't normal for greenhouse design.

Josh Holleb:

And so we got to push some technologies and we learned a lot.

Josh Holleb:

And now we get to spread those technologies to other, to other areas.

Josh Holleb:

Cannabis has really fallen off from where it was, you know, five, six years

Josh Holleb:

ago, as far as how busy it makes us.

Josh Holleb:

I think the most exciting thing right now is, is the glazing technologies.

Josh Holleb:

We've got some glazings, you know, plants look green because

Josh Holleb:

they reflect green light.

Josh Holleb:

It's the one light, light spectrum they don't really use.

Josh Holleb:

We have glazings that can turn green light into red light.

Josh Holleb:

You know, make, you know, it's nanotechnology.

Josh Holleb:

It's in the in the glazing.

Josh Holleb:

It can change the light spectrum.

Josh Holleb:

Mostly that what we're excited about is the infrared blocking

Josh Holleb:

or absorbing technologies.

Josh Holleb:

Greenhouses overheat.

Josh Holleb:

That is just a thing.

Josh Holleb:

No matter what in Colorado we get, we need to cool in the middle of the

Josh Holleb:

winter when the sun's out when we can deploy a glazing material that will

Josh Holleb:

block infrared and especially block it only when we want it to block it.

Josh Holleb:

We can cool a greenhouse without any mechanical systems at all,

Josh Holleb:

which is a huge energy saver.

Josh Holleb:

And our goal is efficiency in growing.

Josh Holleb:

And so these are the things I think that we're most excited about.

Todd Miller:

I'm curious, are there any particular colleges or universities

Todd Miller:

out there that seem to be on the leading edge of, you know, building

Todd Miller:

science technology in terms of glazing?

Josh Holleb:

Well, CEA is a term controlled environment agriculture,

Josh Holleb:

that's kind of a driver in this field.

Josh Holleb:

The University of Arizona has a, has a Biosphere.

Josh Holleb:

They have a really cool CEA program.

Josh Holleb:

And I believe Ohio State University is also doing a lot

Josh Holleb:

of really cool work with CEA.

Josh Holleb:

And then we're just this little family run organization that's

Josh Holleb:

cranking things out on our own.

Josh Holleb:

Not, I'm not comparing us to these huge universities by any means.

Josh Holleb:

We are a little, we are pretty globally connected, for a commercial business.

Josh Holleb:

And so we are able to go around the world and find technologies and then,

Josh Holleb:

and then help to make them commercial, which we found to be successful for us.

Josh Holleb:

And it, you know, just because we're curious, it keeps us on the

Josh Holleb:

cutting edge of what's going on.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, and I love that because you guys have that ingenuity

Todd Miller:

and that, you know, drive to, to learn things and to go out and find them.

Todd Miller:

I know that as I look at building science, you know, I'll see

Todd Miller:

certain universities just really also have kind of that passion.

Todd Miller:

So, thank you for mentioning a couple and that's cool.

Todd Miller:

So, if we had younger folks out there who are intrigued about, You

Todd Miller:

know, the greenhouse industry, what advice would you have for them?

Todd Miller:

I mean, you know, think of, think of them as you 12 years ago.

Todd Miller:

What, what advice would you have for them today?

Josh Holleb:

I think it's twofold.

Josh Holleb:

the first is to learn plants.

Josh Holleb:

You know, in the end, this is all about plants.

Josh Holleb:

And so we think so much about the built environment that

Josh Holleb:

we're designing and creating.

Josh Holleb:

But if you understand what the plants need, you can build a pretty

Josh Holleb:

cool building for the plants.

Josh Holleb:

The other thing is, is to study it.

Josh Holleb:

I think had I known that there's an amazing, CEA program at the University of

Josh Holleb:

Arizona, I probably would have made a few different life choices, on my, on my path.

Josh Holleb:

or send us an email.

Josh Holleb:

We have interns all the time who come work for us and then turn into employees.

Josh Holleb:

So if it's something that you're interested in, then I think follow that

Josh Holleb:

passion, whether it's through the work or studying buildings or studying the plants.

Todd Miller:

so It's been great talking with you, Josh.

Todd Miller:

It's been very informative.

Todd Miller:

We're close to wrapping up kind of what we call the business end of things.

Todd Miller:

Is there anything we haven't covered today that you wanted to

Todd Miller:

be sure to share with our audience?

Josh Holleb:

You know, I, I mentioned earlier that we do a lot of design and,

Josh Holleb:

and I think I just want to reiterate, I probably in building, but definitely in,

Josh Holleb:

in the building that we do, Doing the design 1st, before a shovel touches the

Josh Holleb:

ground is so important for the building to function the way that you want it to.

Josh Holleb:

So we're really design focused because we often see people who

Josh Holleb:

are halfway through a project or maybe almost done with a project.

Josh Holleb:

It's too hot.

Josh Holleb:

It's too cold.

Josh Holleb:

It's not doing the thing that we want to do, but they're too late.

Josh Holleb:

And so we really try to encourage just like, take the time, do the

Josh Holleb:

research, design it appropriately, try not to skimp if you, if you can.

Josh Holleb:

And, and make sure the thing you're going to try and do works the way

Josh Holleb:

you want it to, because in the end, we want the buildings to work the

Josh Holleb:

way you want the buildings to work.

Todd Miller:

I love that, and that's part of our advice, too, is figure out

Todd Miller:

what it is you want to accomplish, and then kind of back that into whatever

Todd Miller:

design or products or whatever it is you need to accomplish that, but

Todd Miller:

you set, set those criteria first.

Todd Miller:

I love that.

Todd Miller:

So, Josh, again, that's been great.

Todd Miller:

Before we close out, I do want to ask you if you'd like to participate in something

Todd Miller:

we call our rapid fire questions.

Todd Miller:

So these are 7 questions.

Todd Miller:

Some may be a little silly.

Todd Miller:

Some are more serious.

Todd Miller:

So, all you have to do is give a quick response to them.

Todd Miller:

Are you up to the challenge of rapid fire.

Josh Holleb:

Yes, I'm ready.

Todd Miller:

Cool.

Todd Miller:

We will, trade off asking questions.

Todd Miller:

Ethan, you want to ask the first question?

Ethan Young:

Yeah.

Ethan Young:

I can do this one.

Ethan Young:

This is kind of for a fortuitous one, but what's your favorite vegetable?

Josh Holleb:

carrot.

Todd Miller:

Carrot.

Todd Miller:

That's interesting.

Todd Miller:

I like, I like roasted carrots.

Todd Miller:

We enjoy roasting them.

Todd Miller:

That's

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, I had to go through, I had to think fruit

Josh Holleb:

and vegetable there for a second.

Josh Holleb:

I like carrots.

Todd Miller:

We roast carrots with radishes, actually, and the

Todd Miller:

radishes take on a real sweet taste.

Todd Miller:

pretty cool.

Todd Miller:

Okay, next question.

Todd Miller:

Cat or dog person?

Josh Holleb:

definitely dog.

Todd Miller:

Dog person.

Todd Miller:

That's our most common answer.

Ethan Young:

question three.

Ethan Young:

Do you have a pet peeve you can share with us?

Josh Holleb:

Bad audio.

Josh Holleb:

I hope I sound okay.

Todd Miller:

You

Ethan Young:

that sounds pretty

Ethan Young:

good.

Ethan Young:

Yeah.

Ethan Young:

Yeah.

Todd Miller:

No, you do.

Todd Miller:

That's funny, because, Ryan, who does our production, that's, that's

Todd Miller:

one of his biggest pet peeves, too.

Josh Holleb:

I shoot a lot of videos on my iPhone,

Todd Miller:

yeah,

Josh Holleb:

but I have a audio setup.

Josh Holleb:

So at least it sounds okay.

Josh Holleb:

Even if it doesn't look great.

Todd Miller:

good for you.

Todd Miller:

Well, you're a man after Ryan's heart for sure.

Todd Miller:

Um, what do you enjoy most about your work and, you know, about

Todd Miller:

what you're doing in your career?

Josh Holleb:

it's food focused in the unhealthy food focused.

Josh Holleb:

which is cool.

Josh Holleb:

I've done this longer than I've done anything else and it's still

Josh Holleb:

exciting somehow so I'm on the right, you know 13 years later.

Josh Holleb:

I'm on the right track.

Todd Miller:

That's cool.

Todd Miller:

You think of the lives that you're impacting.

Todd Miller:

I love that.

Ethan Young:

All right.

Ethan Young:

Oh, this is a classic question for us.

Ethan Young:

If you had to eat a crayon, what color of crayon would you choose?

Josh Holleb:

Ooh, I mean do you go by your favorite color or what

Josh Holleb:

you think would taste the best?

Josh Holleb:

I guess i'm just gonna go I'm going to go blue because it's kind

Josh Holleb:

of my color and maybe it tastes like a blueberry or something.

Ethan Young:

Nice.

Ethan Young:

Yeah.

Ethan Young:

We've heard all sorts of reasoning for this one.

Todd Miller:

Yes.

Todd Miller:

A lot of people say white because it won't show up on their teeth as bad

Josh Holleb:

know, appearance isn't my thing.

Josh Holleb:

So I didn't even go there.

Todd Miller:

Next to last question.

Todd Miller:

How long does it take you to get up around and out of the house in the morning?

Todd Miller:

Of course, right now, I think your house may be traveling with

Todd Miller:

you a little bit, but, how long does that take you in the morning?

Todd Miller:

Yeah.

Josh Holleb:

I have a two year old now, so it's a little slower

Todd Miller:

That changes things.

Josh Holleb:

but I can be pretty fast.

Josh Holleb:

I mean, I can just make a coffee and be out the door.

Josh Holleb:

So it could be 10 minutes,

Todd Miller:

Wow.

Todd Miller:

That's fast.

Todd Miller:

I, I found as I get older, it takes me longer.

Todd Miller:

I guess I'm just slower.

Todd Miller:

I don't know.

Todd Miller:

Your

Josh Holleb:

but I don't, you know, I, what I do now is I just wake

Josh Holleb:

up earlier and take my time and I still leave at the same time.

Todd Miller:

good deal

Ethan Young:

All right.

Ethan Young:

Last one.

Ethan Young:

what has been a new product or service you've purchased recently?

Ethan Young:

That was like a game changer for you.

Josh Holleb:

I mean.

Josh Holleb:

I hate to promote this, Starlink Satellite Internet, assuming this interview is

Josh Holleb:

going okay, has been a total game changer.

Josh Holleb:

We've been on the road for two months, visiting clients all over the

Josh Holleb:

country, having some life experiences, and I can work the entire time,

Josh Holleb:

basically flawlessly, because of it.

Todd Miller:

I always love it.

Todd Miller:

When someone in their community sees the Starlink satellite go over

Todd Miller:

for the first time at night and they're like, we're being taken over.

Todd Miller:

What is that all about?

Todd Miller:

Yeah, don't worry.

Todd Miller:

It's just Starlink.

Todd Miller:

It's good.

Josh Holleb:

Well, I don't know if we don't, I don't know if you need

Josh Holleb:

to worry or not worry, but I do know that on the day to day, it allows

Josh Holleb:

me to have internet in weird places.

Todd Miller:

Cool.

Todd Miller:

Well, thank you again, Josh.

Todd Miller:

This has been great.

Todd Miller:

for folks who may want to get in touch with you or learn more

Todd Miller:

about, Ceres Greenhouse Solutions, how can they most easily do that?

Josh Holleb:

Yeah, our, our web address is www.

Josh Holleb:

ceresgs, that's C E R E S G S dot com.

Josh Holleb:

Ton of information on that website.

Josh Holleb:

And again, we're a small company, so just send an email through the website

Josh Holleb:

and it will either get to me or the person who can best answer your question.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, you guys got some great content out there

Todd Miller:

and I love some of your videos.

Todd Miller:

They're, they're very inspirational.

Todd Miller:

Good stuff.

Josh Holleb:

Thank you.

Todd Miller:

Well, okay.

Todd Miller:

I think we all made it through our challenge words.

Todd Miller:

Ethan, your word was

Ethan Young:

Mine was fortuitous and I kind of waited a while, but

Ethan Young:

I think I had an all right spot.

Todd Miller:

got it in there.

Todd Miller:

I

Todd Miller:

should have switched up the order of the questions.

Todd Miller:

That would have thrown you,

Todd Miller:

Josh, your word was

Josh Holleb:

Camel.

Todd Miller:

camel.

Todd Miller:

You worked it in there.

Todd Miller:

Well,

Ethan Young:

Very good.

Todd Miller:

And I had home sweet home, which I worked in there.

Josh Holleb:

It was great.

Josh Holleb:

Seamless.

Todd Miller:

well, thank you again.

Todd Miller:

Um, Josh has been great

Josh Holleb:

Yep.

Josh Holleb:

Thank you guys.

Josh Holleb:

That was fun.

Todd Miller:

And thank you for tuning into this very special episode of

Todd Miller:

construction disruption with Josh Holleb of Ceres Greenhouse Solutions.

Todd Miller:

Please watch for future episodes of our podcast.

Todd Miller:

We're always blessed with fantastic guests.

Todd Miller:

Don't forget to leave a review on Apple podcast or YouTube.

Todd Miller:

Till the next time we're together, keep on challenging, keep on disrupting,

Todd Miller:

looking for better ways of doing things.

Todd Miller:

And above all, don't forget to have a positive impact on everyone you encounter.

Todd Miller:

Just make their life a little bit better.

Todd Miller:

So God bless and take care.

Todd Miller:

This is Isaiah industry signing off until the next episode

Todd Miller:

of Construction Disruption.