A Duluth, Georgia-based agricultural machinery manufacturer has opened an acceleration center at Skysong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, to spur new ag technology development.
AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) said Dec. 12 the accelerator is dedicated to software and electronics development in areas of autonomy, precision ag, artificial intelligence and digital products. Founded in 1990, AGCO manufactures equipment for sustainable farming. The company’s product portfolio consists of brands including Fendt, GSI, Massey Ferguson, Precision Planting and Valtra.
The Valley’s growing tech ecosystem and nearby universities with engineering talent were drivers in opening an acceleration center, said Seth Crawford, senior vice president and general manager, precision ag and digital for AGCO.
“With more than 27 million acres of farmland and a year-round operating climate, Arizona also provides a great backdrop to continue putting farmers at the center of everything we do,” Crawford said in a statement. “AGCO is excited to attract more of the brightest minds helping us build our tech stack and advance agriculture. The acceleration center is AGCO’s second affiliated with a university.”
In 2018, AGCO opened an acceleration center on the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus to support tech talent within undergraduate and graduate student populations.
AGCO reported $3.5 billion in sales during the third quarter, a 10.7% increase over the year-prior period, according to a regulatory filing. The company said robust demand for its “technology-rich” products was driven by healthy crop production, favorable farm economics and an improving supply chain.
AGCO joins growing number of tenants at SkySong
AGCO is the most recent tenant announced at SkySong, The ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center – a 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use project with office, retail, restaurant, hotel space and the Skysong Apartments.
The development is a public-private partnership with Plaza Companies, ASU University Realty, Holualoa Cos. and the city of Scottsdale.
ASU Skysong also provides business services to startups in partnership with university researchers.
In September, cybersecurity firm Lumifi Cyber, which was previously known as Datashield, extended its lease at the SkySong campus for the next seven years, the Business Journal previously reported. The company currently occupies more than 8,200 square feet at Skysong 1.
Earlier this year, Raytheon announced it’s opening a new engineering design hub that will employ 150 people and provide collaboration opportunities for students.
The company said in July it’s 28,000-square-foot engineering design hub at Skysong will focus on digital design products to support rapid growth of the company’s defense portfolio that mostly has been concentrated in southern Arizona.
Raytheon, a division of Arlington, Virginia-based RTX (NYSE: RTX), has its major missile manufacturing operation in Tucson.
Source : The Business Journal