New factory opened
Every Agrifac sprayer is connected to the cloud
Agrifac Machinery officially opened their new production facility in Steenwijk (Overijssel) on Monday 5 February. The sprayer specialist seizes the moment to present a new field sprayer and to explain what the future of crop protection looks like. Electronics is inextricably linked to this.
Agrifac sees an important role for itself in the agricultural sector. A growing world population demands a lot of safe food. Daniel Tragus, board member of Agrifac owner Exel Industries, also emphasizes this. It is also a motivation for making the factory climate neutral. For example, the renewed production location in Steenwijk is self-sufficient in terms of energy needs and rainwater is used smartly.
The new factory is not quite ready yet. "Part of the buildings will be converted into 'experience centers'", director Peter Millenaar explains. "We don't close the doors, but open them to give start-ups the opportunity. This so that new companies and techniques can develop."
Digital sprayer
At the same time as the new factory, the company is showing a glimpse into the digital kitchen. Every self-propelled Condor sprayer that leaves the factory is linked to a cloud account. One such machine is equipped with 600 sensors, which send data to the cloud every 2 seconds. With this, the company analyzes the performance and warns of possible problems and preventive maintenance.
Self-learning
In the future, every machine owner will have his own MyAgrifac account via the AYE platform. That stands for amplify your effectiveness (improve your effectiveness). This platform is still being worked on, it emphasizes. The owner can find all information through the computer. Fields sprayed, capacity, maintenance and more. The machine is self-learning, so that location-specific information is sent to the driver. Just like in a luxury car, the system indicates when a part needs to be replaced or a filter cleaned.
In addition to a digital system, the service employees in Steenwijk have the option of watching live. AYE alerts the helpdesk when a problem occurs, so that action can be taken before the sprayer comes to a standstill with pieces.
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The EcoTronicPLus control has also been completely renewed for the Endurance II.Spraying technique
Not only the software is new. It also developed a new machine control that continues to bear the same name as its predecessor: EcoTronicPlus. Another novelty is the site-specific DynamicDosePlus spraying technique. That is Agrifac's name for pulsating spraying, where each nozzle is individually regulated in delivery with a switching speed of 100 hertz. "We stop working at plot level and go back to plant level," says Millenaar.
"This makes us unique in agriculture. We are not going to work with Bayer, BASF or Monsanto for crop care. We do that with our customers. They have a wealth of knowledge. We need that farmer's knowledge. Agrifac has the technology in-house to recognize plants, administer the correct dose per plant and at the correct tree height."
New Condor
The SmartDosePlus agent injection system and the AICPlus crop recognition system will be shown live during the meeting, with each cap switching on and off individually. In addition, the dosage is adapted to the plant. Finally, the renewed Condor Endurance sprayer is introduced in a completely new color scheme.
Niels van der Boom
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