Interview Tomer Tzach - CropX
'Location in the Netherlands ideal for agtech'
International agricultural data company CropX acquires Dacom over, it was announced this month. This makes the Dacom location in Emmen the European headquarters for this fast-growing Israeli company.
Boerenbusiness spoke with CEO Tomer Tzach about CropX, the vision of the rapidly developing 'agtech world' and what role a Dutch family business can play in this.
CropX is internationally active and a well-known player in the field of data, but we do not know the company in the Netherlands. What does the organization look like?
“CropX was founded and based in Israel. With the acquisition of Dacom, we now have about 75 employees, one third of whom are from Dacom. Another third are based in Israel and the rest is split between the US and New Zealand. we have people in Australia and Mexico. CropX originated from a startup and we still maintain that corporate culture. This means that we can switch quickly and respond to market demands. Last year we acquired 2 companies that respond to data in the Agriculture."
| About Tomer Tzach and CropX |
| CEO Tomer Tzach (47) was born in Israel, but grew up in the US. He returned to Israel for his military service and served as a transport aircraft pilot in the Israeli army for 7 years. He then studied computer science at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) and went to work at Intel. He then worked at investment company Eurofund and gained experience with start-ups. He helped a startup in trouble and started his own company Clixie. A digital trading platform for diamonds and jewelry, which was sold after a few years. CropX was founded in 2014 and Tzach started as CEO in 2017. In his own words, because he wanted to lead a company that makes an impact on the world. Instead of medical science, it became agriculture. CropX took over irrigation company Regen and American data company CropMetrics in 2020. |
What will Dutch farmers notice from the acquisition of Dacom?
"Nothing at the moment. We keep everything the same and the familiar faces remain. We do not see it as an acquisition, but more a partnership in which everyone has an equal voice. Janneke Hadders and Ivor Bosloper from Dacom join the management team of CropX. Together we will work on a plan for the integration of our services. Nothing will be deleted, only services will be added. This is how we want to serve customers worldwide. The Dacom office will be our headquarters in Europe. We need to go slow, but we're in a hurry."
Why the focus on the Netherlands. Aren't we a special and small country in the agricultural field?
"The Netherlands is unique in several respects. Among other things, because of the focus on technology. You are leaders in the European agricultural sector, just look at the role of Wageningen University. What surprised me is that many Dacom employees have studied at WUR and "So actually being an agronomist. I think the Netherlands is an excellent base from which to conquer European agriculture. In that respect, parallels can be drawn with Israel. Our country is also a frontrunner in terms of technology."
What is the ultimate goal of CropX and is this interesting for the Dutch farmer?
"What you see is that a huge number of small players worldwide are active in the agtech business. They are too small to make a big impact, but they do have very good technology in-house. CropX bundles all this technology in one global platform. all services together. We will launch this platform next year. You will also find Dacom products there. We have solutions for irrigation, fertilization, disease management, weather and satellite data, machine data and more. Customers really don't use all those applications For example, Dacom has products specifically for the cultivation of chicory, which is interesting for only a few countries."
Agricultural entrepreneurs are increasingly protecting their data. Doesn't that affect your business model?
"Let me start by saying that we respect the legislation in Europe and the Netherlands in terms of data. The data of the Dutch farmer does not suddenly become available to us. You should see it this way: anonymized data is fed into the system. One company doesn't make an impact, but many companies do. The system recognizes that if x + y + z are combined, the operating result improves. This makes it smarter. The more users, the smarter the system. Dacom already has a lot of knowledge within its ranks and we can enrich our platform with that. Users now and in the future will reap the benefits. It will be big!"
CropX also supplies sensor technology. Are you going to sell them here too?
"We are basically a data company. The soil sensor was born out of necessity, because we were dissatisfied with the quality of the existing products on the market. Our sensor is unique, because every farmer can install and use it. Last year - then the world was in lockdown - we started sensors in 15 new countries. Users did that themselves. The system is very easy to scale up for us and that is where the advantage lies. The sensor is already being used in the Netherlands, but the focus is not here It's mainly about delivering reliable data. Many data companies are focused on satellite or drone images. They see problems with the crop after they happen. When you measure the soil, you see them before it happens. That is our secret."
Niels van der Boom
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