HZPC has decided to stop the business activities of Solentum BV as of 1 May due to the disappointing speed of digitization in the agricultural sector. Solentum is a subsidiary of HZPC that was founded in 2015. The company's goal was to develop and market digital products and services for the agricultural sector.
"Without any doubt, we at HZPC see and realize the increasing importance of digital data in the agricultural industry. On the other hand, we also note that this digitalization development in the potato business chain is developing more slowly than expected," says commercial director Herman Verveld. "Solentum was founded to make digital techniques, which we use at HZPC in our business operations, also available to other parties in the chain. However, we see that digitalization in the agricultural sector is slower than previously expected and lags behind, for example, the consumer market."
Digitization continues
For example, Solentum has an instrument to digitally measure the color of fries, a digital instrument that collects data during storage and Solgrader with which a digital field analysis of a trial harvest can be made in the country.
"HZPC has various projects underway in the field of digitalization and we will continue with that. Consider, for example, the smart big bag," says Verveld. "Digitalization is certainly continuing, but we currently have no view of the finish line. To accelerate the digitalization process, we want to focus. Solentum's activities do not fit in with this at the moment."