Italy’s SDF Group is taking a majority stake in VitiBot, a French specialist in robotics for the vineyard care market. The two companies will join forces to develop and market a range of innovative and high-performance solutions for an increasingly sustainable precision viticulture sector.
VitiBot is a French startup based at Reims, in the heart of the Champagne region. The company is a leader in the emerging market of vineyard care robotics with Bakus, a 100 per cent electric and autonomous straddle tractor.
The business was founded in 2016 by Dominique Bache, a winegrower in the Aube, and his son Cedric, a young engineer in robotics. VitiBot embodies a new dynamic in the French agricultural equipment industry, creating a source of new professions and many jobs to come.
The Bakus robot is the result of five years of research and was developed by a team of young engineers passionate about robotics and ecology, and ambitious to offer new capabilities to winegrowers while improving social and environmental sustainability.
With more than 4,000 employees, SDF manufactures products under the Same, Deutz-Fahr, Lamborghini, Hürlimann and Grégoire brands. The acquisition is seen by the group as a major innovation accelerator, generating significant synergies for two highly complementary businesses.
“Sustainable and digital agriculture is a key factor of our development,” SDF CEO Lodovico Bussolati said. “After thorough research, we realised that VitiBot was the best vineyard solution to enrich our tractor offering with self-driving and zero-emission electric vehicles. Now the goal is to support development of the company and the product, satisfying a market with huge growth potential.
“SDF’s priorities today include unmanned operation, precision agriculture, digital services, collection and management of agronomic data, and introduction of electrification technologies for farm equipment. With VitiBot, we will benefit from the contribution of a highly qualified teams with specific know-how to achieve these goals quickly and effectively.”
Vibibot’s original investors, Maison Louis Roederer, the Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët group, Laurent-Perrier Champagnes, Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck, will remain shareholders and members of the company’s strategic committee.
