Boerenbusiness is presenting the Agribusiness Award for the fifth time this year. The prize for companies with an innovative product or new service with a financial advantage for the farmer. Last year's winner is Andela Engineering & Innovation with the Robot Weeder ARW-912. How are they doing a year later?
Last year Andela made a number of improvements to the Robot Weeder ARW-912 in order to better meet the wishes of the customer. The machine is a fully robotized and autonomous driving weeding machine. It can detect and remove the weeds in the row by means of artificial intelligence in different crops and field conditions. According to Andela, the machine can take over most of the weeding work from manual weeders and is operational 24/7.
Improved version
"An improved version of our machine has been built that meets the customer's needs even better," says Sandra Andela. "We equipped the machine with longer tracks for even less soil compaction, added an extra front wheel to avoid a third track, and made the entire construction lighter."
"We have sold three machines, in addition there is currently a lot of interest from our own and new customers at home and abroad, and new markets are also finding their way to us. That is certainly interesting. The ambition is to grow every year. The plan is to to build and expand ten machines in Europe next year.”
The advantage for the farmer
Andela is very pleased with the positive added value of participating in the Agribusiness Award. "Participating in the Agribusiness Award has generated many positive reactions and interest. It is a national award, which appeals to us! Your innovation is compared to other innovations in our sector. We are also in good company as the winner of 2022 with the previous winners of the Agribusiness Award. We find it valuable that this award focuses on the benefit for the farmer, which is actually the basis of all the developments we do. We always start with the farmer, so that is absolutely very similar with how we work."
Skilled jury
Andela looks back positively on the pitch and the interaction with the jury. "While the pitch was quite exciting at the beginning, it quickly turned into a fun, interactive and educational experience. It is a varied and skilled jury with relevant questions. They were well informed and that helps to tell your story It also helps you to think carefully about what your product adds and what the benefits are for the farmer."
Agribusiness Awards 2023
The application page for the Agribusiness Award 2023 is now open. You can register from June 12. The professional jury then assesses the entries and chooses the nominees. Are you the agribusiness company that provides the farmer with a demonstrable financial advantage with an ingenious product, innovative service or groundbreaking production process? For more information, go to Boerenbusiness.nl/award and sign up.
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
