Dutch company Homburg acquires Swedish Ekobot
Homburg has become the full owner of the Swedish company Ekobot. As of January 2024, Homburg was already the official importer of Ekobot in the Netherlands and Belgium.
“We are proud to add Ekobot products to Homburg’s global SmartFarming offerings,” said Jack Thibaudier, CEO of Homburg. “We can now further develop Ekobot according to our own vision of agriculture. Further development was challenging for Ekobot as a publicly listed startup; the company was clearly ready for the scale-up phase.”
Ekobot’s long-term vision is to offer the agricultural sector a sustainable alternative to the use of chemicals in crops for human consumption. Homburg aims to further grow in the field of advanced precision agriculture, thereby making a contribution to sustainable and future-proof farming. The acquisition of the Swedish Ekobot marks a major step in achieving this goal.
Autonomous agricultural robot
Ekobot developed the autonomous agricultural robot Ekobot WEAI according to a unique concept. Similar to a robotic lawnmower at home, this robot keeps a field (such as one with onions) free of weeds. This is achieved through an in-house developed camera system with AI-driven recognition techniques and a patented mechanical weeding instrument. The system also maintains a constant connection to the Cloud, enabling further crop analysis. This piece of sustainable precision agriculture allows for weed control with minimal or no use of herbicides.
Further development of precision agriculture
Homburg wants to expand its position in sustainable precision agriculture. This is done in collaboration with PMH Investments, which acquired a stake in Homburg Holland last year. There is a focus on efficient new technologies such as implement guidance (Homburg SmartSolutions), mechanical weeding, robots, and site-specific cultivation practices. For this precision agriculture, the Homburg SmartFarming division employs various technologies such as GPS, camera and sensor technology, AI, IoT (Internet of Things), robotics, and Spot Spraying.
