An industry giant, Yamaha, has acquired locally based company, Robotics Plus.
Developing robotic technology to solve some of the world’s biggest agriculture challenges, Robotics Plus will now form part of a new, US-based company, Yamaha Agriculture.
“This acquisition is a testament to the strong partnership we’ve built with Yamaha over the years, driven by a shared vision and commitment to empowering large scale growers,” co-founder and CEO of Robotics Plus, Steve Saunders, says.
“Innovations such as Prospr are at the heart of Yamaha Agriculture’s global strategy, enabling a data-driven approach to precision agriculture. With Yamaha’s support, we are poised to accelerate our robotics innovations, significantly scale our hardware manufacturing, and expand further into key markets such as the US, and beyond.”
Based in Te Puna, the company specialises in developing automation solutions for agriculture, combining expertise in robotics, automation, sensing and data analytics.
Examples of the business’ ingenuity include Prospr, a system capable of multiple activities including spraying and weed control with additional attachments such as mowing in development.
With Yamaha’s support, we are poised to accelerate our robotics innovations, significantly scale our hardware manufacturing, and expand further into key markets such as the US, and beyond.”
Robotics Plus’ also launched the Aporo Fruit Packer, which automates fruit packing, and a robotic log scaler to automate log measurement for trucks and trains.
Meaningful change has required the team thinks big, Saunders’ fellow co-founder and chief engineering officer, Dr Alistair Scarfe contends.
“We need to think big and tackle globally scalable challenges. This mindset has allowed Robotics Plus to build a world class team of specialists across agriculture, technology, and engineering, delivering best-in-class robotic solutions that are now deployed worldwide,” he says.
“Over the years, we’ve greatly benefited from Yamaha Motors’ deep industry expertise and we’re excited to take our innovations even further with Yamaha Agriculture.”
Group CEO of Yamaha Agriculture, Nolan Paul, expects close cooperation with growers and industry partners will be crucial.
“Guided by our mission to ensure growers are sustainable, profitable, and resilient, Yamaha Agriculture recognises that the challenges facing specialty crop growers require thoughtful solutions that will take time to develop,” he says.
“The capabilities of Robotics Plus in robotics and automation will be an important building block in addressing these challenges along with AI-powered data analytics.”
