Smart Machine set to take autonomous agricultural robots from Marlborough to the world

A Marlborough-based startup that has built the world’s most functionally capable autonomous tractor for the agricultural industry is about to go global after partnering with a US multinational corporation to scale and expand its international footprint.

Smart Machine has designed autonomous multitasking robotic machines - called Oxin - to work in vineyards around the world. The 4.5 tonne machines are capable of mulching, spraying herbicide, mowing, canopy trimming and spraying, and leaf defoliation – almost everything except harvesting.

The technology behind the autonomous robotic machine is the most significant development for the industry since the advent of the tractor more than 130 years ago, says Smart Machine’s co-founder, Andrew Kersley.

“Effectively we are building smarter tractors that can concentrate on more tasks than a tractor driver can by taking the operator and cab out of the equation,” he says.

Kersley says the Oxin machine gets its name from the hard working and reliable teams of oxen that were used in agriculture for centuries - the precursor to the tractor.

"We are really excited about the technology we are building. It provides a huge amount of satisfaction to develop something so ground-breaking that also has the potential to have such a big impact for growers around the world,” he says.

“Also, New Zealand is not big enough to justify developing the technology only for local use, so we have to be thinking about scaling globally.

“The R&D for us has always been about what will help build pathways into Australia, the US and eventually Europe and South America. Developing the business to a point that we can operate globally has always been a focus.”

The Oxin machines are all made in New Zealand, can run 24/7, and undertake any combination of mechanised tasks much more efficiently than tractors ever could, let alone teams of oxen. Unlike oxen, the machines don’t tire - and unlike tractor drivers, the machines don’t need to take lunch breaks.

However, these smart machines are not about replacing a whole lot of people. Rather, Kersley says, it is about more effectively utilising the resources that growers have available.

“In an industry where labour is getting harder to find, utilising the hours that you do have available and enabling those people to monitor multiple machines instead of manning one offers significant benefits,” he says.

“There’s no other company in the world that has delivered a functionality that could replace a tractor and provide autonomy for very large orchards. We are the only company globally at the moment that is on the edge of being able to deliver at this scale for the big customers in Australia and the US.”

For example, in order to do a productive spray round, the Oxin machines tow at least 4,000 litres of chemicals, meaning operators don’t spend more time filing up a sprayer than they do spraying.

“We have the only robot in the world that can deliver that,” says Kersley.

Smart Machine is also currently in the middle of a seed raise. A big part of that is finding some strategic partners to help with the next stages of growth – and following that, it will need to build and sell more machines to meet market demand.

Kersley said Smart Machine started in 2018 from co-founder Walter Langlois’ garage in Marlborough - the centre of New Zealand’s wine industry - before the startup moved to “a slightly bigger garage” in Marlborough. Langlois, a semi-retired serial entrepreneur, still owns a 10-acre vineyard in Marlborough.

These days Smart Machine is a $5m company with 23 staff, and is hoping to double its turnover each year for the next two years as it grows internationally.

Callaghan Innovation initially assisted Smart Machine in funding its R&D, with the company going on to raise $1.93m through its first raise.

This led to support from Pellenc, a multinational heavy machinery company based in California, which opened doors to the bigger US market. Pellenc is the biggest supplier of grape harvesters to the US wine industry, 80 percent of which is in California, while Washington state has most of the rest.

“We need to have a partner on the ground in the US who the customers really trust, and will be able to supply them the parts they need,” Kersley says.

“We identified Pellenc very early on as that potential partner. Their connections into the industry we are targeting - the wine grape space for a start - are second to none, so being able to leverage their existing customer relationships and their existing service and support and distribution channels is key.”

New Zealand has more than 2,000 vineyards producing eight million litres of wine annually. While this country has between 35,000 - 45,000 hectares of grapes, the US has 420,000 hectares, so there is certainly room for exponential growth.

Smart Machine will provide machinery and high-level support to Pellenc so that they can support their own customers on the ground.

To onboard this partner, Kersley says Pellenc staff needed to see the SmartMachine technology working in the US - and they liked what they saw.

“The feedback was so resounding, it was unbelievable,” Kersley says.

In May this year, Smart Machine won ‘Most innovative Hi-tech Agritech Solution’ at the 2024 Hi-Tech Awards, the most prestigious annual tech awards event held in New Zealand.

Kersley says Smart Machine does not only have smart machines, it has smart people who thrive on success, and who “wear the hurts and celebrate the wins.”

“Success for me is building something that has longevity, and that the people in our team can grow with us and be a part of that team for a long time. We also want to attract young people to the provinces and give them the opportunity to work on really cool stuff. That’s what I’m here for,” Kersley says.

“I want this opportunity to be more than a flash in the pan. I want to deliver value and benefit for growers in 15-20 years time. That’s key to my motivation, and Walter and Nick the other founders feel the same way.”

Story by Dave Crampton

View this Innovation Nation story in full via NZ Entrepreneur Magazine website:

https://nzentrepreneur.co.nz/smart-machine-set-to-take-autonomous-agricultural-robots-from-marlborough-to-the-world/

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