NPM Capital acquires stake in high-tech greenhouse constructor KUBO

NPM Capital

Investment company NPM Capital has acquired a minority share in KUBO, a leading developer of high-tech greenhouses for horticulture. With NPM’s support, the Dutch family owned company aims to further develop its global leadership in state-of-the-art greenhouse concepts.

KUBO has been active in the greenhouse industry for over 75 years. The company serves growers of fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers with high-tech greenhouses, including software support and services including training, data analysis, management and operational support. The company, with approximately 150 employees, has branches in Monster (the Netherlands), Montreal (Canada) and Shanghai (China). With a turnover of roughly €200 million and projects realised in 45 countries, including Canada, United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Oman, KUBO is a pioneer in its industry. The family owned company, founded in 1945, was awarded the number one position in the Hillenraad100: an annual ranking of the hundred most prominent businesses in the knowledge- and capital-intensive Dutch (greenhouse) horticultural industry cluster.

According to Wouter Kuiper, KUBO’s CEO and the third generation in the family business, further international expansion of his greenhouse company offers an enormous opportunity. “We can see that the scale at which our clients operate is getting larger and larger, and the greenhouses are not only getting bigger, but also increasingly technologically complex. In addition, a growing number of investors that are entering the market lack horticultural expertise themselves and look for turn-key solutions. With NPM Capital, we’ll have an investor on board with a long-term investment horizon, a very clear vision on our sector, and with the means and know-how to help shape our international expansion. Together, we can further professionalise our organisation, open new branches and attract the best talent. NPM can also provide support for future acquisitions. We are ready to take this leap together. In the end, it is our ambition to strengthen our leading position in the global market,” Kuiper said.

Rapidly growing demand

The decision to join forces with a long-term investor also makes sense, given that the international market for greenhouse cultivation will continue to grow rapidly the coming decades. Kuiper: “That growth will likely be around 10% per year. On every global continent, there is a rapidly growing demand for high-quality and locally produced products that are grown safely and efficiently under ideal climatological conditions, using limited energy, water and pesticides. We can do all those things at once in our high-tech greenhouses.”

Rutger Ruigrok, Managing Director of NPM Capital, is very excited about NPM’s opportunity to invest in KUBO. “We are already deeply involved in the food and agricultural supply chain, and as part of our investment focus ‘Feeding the World’, we have also been following developments in the greenhouse industry for years. KUBO is without a doubt one of the leading players in terms of technology and innovation. Given the company’s strong position as a value chain  orchestrator and its deep ties with the Dutch horticulture ecosystem, KUBO is the ideal platform for further development of high-tech greenhouses. We are also impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit and qualities of Wouter and his team. By now, we have also learned that there is a good cultural fit between KUBO and NPM. For that reason, we are looking forward to a long-term collaboration to support the jewel of the Dutch knowledge-intensive manufacturing industry in realising their ambitions.”

Advisors
NPM was advised by PWC (M&A, financial, tax), Nauta Dutilh (legal), Strategy& (commercial), MJ Hudson (ESG) and Hillenraad Partners (industry advisor). KUBO was advised by Yeald (M&A and strategic advisor) and JB Law (legal).

Both parties agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction that still is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

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Kind Technologies acquires Martin Stolze for further growth within the horticulture greenhouse market

GIMV

De Lier / Eindhoven (NL), 25 November 2020

High-tech scale up Kind Technologies expands its position in the horticulture greenhouse market by acquiring Martin Stolze B.V., an international specialist in the automation of internal transport.
Increasing demand for technology and automation within the horticulture and food processing worldwide
Martin Stolze and Kind Technologies see an increasing demand for automation within the agriculture & food market world-wide. Rising labor costs and scarcity, focus on food safety and the use of data for process improvement are important drivers for the growth strategy of the companies.

Kind

Kind Technologies is a frontrunner in this area and is active within the horticulture with its brands KOAT and Crux Agribotics. It has developed the award-winning SortiPack® system for automatic grading, sorting and packing of organic products, fruits and vegetables, enabling greenhouse growers and packing centers to scale up productivity with less dependence on human labor and to utilize crop data available from the system.

Relevant combined forces
Martin Stolze (http://martinstolze.nl) has been an expert in the internal transport of products in horticulture, distribution- and packaging centers since its establishment in 1991. This long experience, complete product portfolio, own production and service capacity make Martin Stolze a leading manufacturer, supplier and integrator for complete internal transport automation projects. The company has grown strongly in recent years with its internal transport product portfolio including conveyor belts, buffer belts, potting machines, roller conveyors, watering stations, chain- and potting forks, which are sold internationally.

Martin Stolze

Martin Stolze is therefore a valuable extension of the portfolio of Kind Technologies. After this expansion, Kind Technologies consists of more than 200 engineers and technicians dedicated to bringing its technologies to the market. Managing Director Wido Kruijswijk will continue to lead Martin Stolze with the existing team. Martin Stolze with its 57 employees will remain based in De Lier (The Netherlands) and will continue its activities under its current name. Martin Stolze will remain involved as external advisor.

“Essential to further strengthen the growth and continuity of Martin Stolze”
“I am very happy and proud that the Kind Technologies group sees our added value and potential’ says Martin Stolze, the former owner and founder of the company. ‘It was key for me, to guarantee the continuity of the company for our employees, customers and other stakeholders’. ‘By joining this innovative high-tech group, we can access their experience in managing growth and further professionalize our business processes, attract new talent and expand our offering’.

“Enormous potential in automating horticulture and packaging centers worldwide”
‘With this steppingstone expansion, we accelerate our growth strategy within the horticulture’, says Alex E. Kind, CEO of Kind Technologies. ‘We see enormous potential in automating the typical manual processes within greenhouses and packing centers globally’. ‘With this acquisition we secure our presence in the greenport region Westland, the world’s most innovative region in the field of greenhouse horticulture’. ‘We are positioning ourselves to be the system supplier of choice for the full horticulture value chain including growers, greenhouse builders, installation and automation companies. Our strategy is based on significant investments in R&D, services and strategic partnerships within the industry combined with strategic acquisitions such as Martin Stolze and KOAT in 2019’.
No further details will be disclosed.

ABOUT Kind Technologies
Kind Technologies is as high-tech group specialized in industrial automation with Robotics, Computer Vision and AI. As Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) it delivers systems worldwide to the Agriculture & Food and Pharma markets. In these markets, where quality cannot be compromised, its technology warrants patient- and food safety.
Kind Technologies is on a mission to contribute to a better world where plant, food and medicines are better distributed over the world and resource scarcity is addressed through advanced automation. With our technology, we want to contribute to a world where the population can grow, without anyone having to suffer from hunger. A world where availability of authentic medicines is a basic provision. Our roadmap around Industrial Automation, Robotics, Computer Vision and AI enable more efficient and scalable production processes where quality is safeguarded and all intermediate steps can be tracked and traced across value chains.
Leading brands and members of the group are Beltech, Vimec Applied Vision Technology, Crux Agribotics and KOAT.
Kind Technologies is active worldwide and headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with another office and production location in Someren, The Netherlands. In 2018, Gimv N.V. (Euronext: GIMB) joined as shareholder to provide Kind Technologies with capital and support to realize its growth strategy based on organic growth combined with strategic add-on acquisitions.
More information on Kind Technologies can be found on www.kindtechnologies.nl
More information on Crux Agribotics can be found on www.cruxagribotics.com and www.sortipack.com
More information on KOAT can be found on www.koat.nl
Be Kind to the world.

ABOUT Martin Stolze
Since 1991 Martin Stolze has developed into a total supplier for the automation of internal transport for the horticultural greenhouse sector. Martin Stolze represents service and quality. As a result, Martin Stolze has already served thousands of satisfied customers all over the world.
In its own factory a complete product portfolio is designed, produced and assembled including conveyor belts, buffer belts, potting machines, roller conveyors, watering stations and many other products to make the work in and around greenhouses easier. The modular and scalable product portfolio can be combined in total projects and equipped with full computer control. Martin Stolze also offers value-added services to assist and guide OEMs, partners, resellers and customers in realizing complete automation projects. Martin Stolze also has a rental department in which a large part of the product portfolio can be rented for a defined period.
We are happy to help you by ‘taking the work out of your hands’.

More information on Martin Stolze can be found on www.martinstolze.nl

For further information please contact:
Charlotte Jannes, Kind Technologies
T: +31 40 747 0401 – E: Charlotte.jannes@kindtechnologies.nl

Sascha Veltrop, Martin Stolze
T: +31 17 451 8113 – E: marketing@martinstolze.nl

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One of A Kind Technologies expands with KOAT to accelerate Agriculture growth strategy

GIMV

09/09/2019 – 16:50 | Portfolio

2019.08.29 – One of A Kind Technologies (OOAKT) acquires KOAT B.V., an international machine- and system supplier of internal transport and material handling systems in the greenhouse horticulture.

KOAT (http://koat.nl) was founded in 1992 as ‘Koppens Ontwikkeling en Aanvoer Techniek’. The last decade the company has further developed and grown under the direction and ownership of Managing Director, Kees van Dam. KOAT develops, delivers and integrates production processing lines and internal transport systems for the horticulture greenhouse market worldwide. It has a vast experience in automating the material handling of freshly harvested crops and vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

One of A Kind Technologies is a high-tech scale-up in Eindhoven, The Netherlands focused on Computer Vision & Robotics in its markets Agriculture, Food and Pharma. With its Crux Agribotics brand (http://cruxagribotics.com) it develops and delivers compelling and innovative robotics towards the agriculture and horticulture markets. Together with KOAT it developed the SortiPack® system which integrates Automated Grading, Sorting and Packing of Tomatoes and other crops enabling growers to scale up productivity with less dependence on human labor.

Both companies see the increasing demand for automation within the agriculture market world-wide. Increasing labor scarcity, cost and demands for flexible harvesting, packing and handling including track and tracing functionality to ensure food safety are key drivers for the companies’ growth strategies.

‘This milestone step will accelerate our capacity as leading Vision & Robotics player within the Agricultural domain’ says Alex E. Kind, CEO of One of A Kind Technologies. ‘With SortiPack® and our Robotics roadmap of end-to-end handling from harvest to packing, we are one of the frontrunners to enable new possibilities within the food processing and crop handling value chains. With KOAT joining our group, we can leverage our mutual IP, customer base and systems, providing additional value and perspective to our customers, partners and employees. We will continue to invest in R&D and local sales and service presence in key markets. Now the first SortiPack® systems have been sold successfully, we will also engage and contract designated partners and agents for specific geographical markets to ensure worldwide delivery’.

With the expansion of KOAT, the One of A Kind Technologies group comprises of 125 engineers and technicians active to deliver its technology worldwide.

“I am very satisfied, that particularly One of A Kind Technologies, being an innovative and leading high-tech company, sees the potential of KOAT. I am convinced that the future growth of KOAT is secured through this step and that KOAT will contribute to the group’s results immediately”, says Kees van Dam, former owner of KOAT.  Kees will remain in his position as Director of KOAT and will ensure, together with OOAKT Management, that the company’s strategy for the coming years will be realized.

No further details will be disclosed.

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