Topcon Scoops Up Digi-big name To develop ‘Precision Agriculture’ industry
Japan’s Topcon scooped up Wisconsin agriculture expertise firm Digi-star as of late in a move that underscores the growing excitement over related gadgets in apparently every business, together with farming.
Topcon Positioning crew, a division of Tokyo-primarily based Topcon Corp., got Digi-famous person for an undisclosed price from the personal fairness arm of Baird Capital.
Digi-big name’s services and products will probably be joined with Topcon’s precision agriculture trade that makes GPS-enabled guidance methods and electronic controls for farm tools, among different merchandise. castle Atkinson, WI-based totally Digi-superstar sells tool-enabled scales, sensors, and other gear that helps farmers higher manage their operations, such as measuring crop yields and monitoring cattle feed stock. Digi-famous person additionally has consumers in the industrial market.
For a couple of years, Topcon and Digi-megastar worked as partners on development projects, and the 2 have “complementary technologies and distribution channels,” Topcon Positioning group president and CEO Ray O’Connor said in a news release.
“At a time when many corporations are reducing their investment in agricultural markets, we’re an increasing number of optimistic about their increase based totally upon our sturdy commitment to creating management systems and solutions that bring the power of the web of things to every farm,” O’Connor stated within the unencumber.
Digi-megastar traces its roots back to 1981, when it used to be a division of backyard metropolis, KS-based Butler Manufacturing. The trade later moved to Wisconsin and used to be spun off into its personal firm.
Digi-superstar opened a distribution heart and advertising place of job in the Netherlands in 1999, according to its site. Baird Capital, the funding arm of Milwaukee-based totally Robert W. Baird & Co., sold Digi-star in 2011. the next yr, Digi-megastar accelerated to the U.k. when it sold RDS technology, which bought an identical technology. That deal also gave Digi-star engineering, construction, and manufacturing amenities in Europe, Digi-famous person stated.
With the addition of Digi-star’s more than 220 staff in Wisconsin and Europe, Topcon’s precision agriculture trade now counts about 600 employees. Livermore, CA-based totally Topcon Positioning group has more than 2,000 workers worldwide.
Digi-famous person operations will stay based in castle Atkinson, the companies said.
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