CNH buys into Raven Industries for enhanced precision agricultural abilities
CNH Industrial, the owner of the Case IH, New Holland and Steyr tractor, farm and industrial machinery brands has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the capital stock of Raven Industries, which is claimed to be a US-based leader in precision agriculture technology. The deal values Raven Industries at US$2.1 billion and it was funded with available cash on hand of CNH Industrial.
The acquisition builds upon a long partnership between the two companies and will further enhance CNH Industrial’s position in the global agriculture equipment market by adding strong innovation capabilities in autonomous and precision agriculture technology.
“Precision agriculture and autonomy are critical components of our strategy to help our agricultural customers reach the next level of productivity and to unlock the true potential of their operations,” said Scott Wine, Chief Executive Officer, CNH Industrial. “Raven has been a pioneer in precision agriculture for decades, and their deep product experience, customer driven software expertise and engineering acumen offer a significant boost to our capabilities. This acquisition emphasizes our commitment to enhance our precision farming portfolio and aligns with our digital transformation strategy. The combination of Raven’s technologies and CNH Industrial’s strong current and new product portfolio will provide our customers with novel, connected technologies, allowing them to be more productive and efficient.”
“Our Board and Management are excited about this partnership and what it means for our future,” said Dan Rykhus, President & Chief Executive Officer for Raven Industries. “For 65 years, our company has been committed to solving great challenges. Part of that commitment includes delivering groundbreaking innovation by developing and investing in our core capabilities and technology. By coming together with CNH Industrial, we believe we will further accelerate that path as well as bring tremendous opportunities and value to our customers — once again fulfilling our purpose to solve great challenges. Our relationship with CNH Industrial has expanded over decades, and we have a deep respect for one another and a shared commitment to transform agriculture practices across the world. We look forward to CNH Industrial leveraging the Raven talent and culture, as well as the Sioux Falls community, as part of their vision and future success.”
In May 2021 Raven Industries launched of its new product brand and autonomous growth platform, OMNi. This new product brand highlights Raven’s advancements in autonomous solutions for agriculture with a strategic offering of two integrated products: OMNiDRIVE™ and OMNiPOWER™.
The OMNi name (meaning “all”) will take center stage within Raven. “Empowering ‘all’ is exactly what OMNiPOWER™ and OMNiDRIVE™ bring to the agriculture industry. OMNi enables holistic, hands-free precision; it gives the farmer total control of their time and maximizes operational productivity and efficiency,” said Nick Langerock, Director of Strategic Marketing for Raven. “As we bring OMNi to market, we want farmers to understand that some of their pain points are now more manageable through autonomous solutions. OMNi solutions allow the farmer to trust the routine tasks to automation and focus on the important farm functions.”
OMNiDRIVE™ replaces the AutoCart name from the previous acquisition of Smart Ag. The former DOT name is now OMNiPOWER™. All of Raven’s intelligent autonomous solutions for the agriculture industry will be branded with the OMNi prefix and are part of one connected ecosystem. This ecosystem leverages Raven’s innovative and ever-growing technology portfolio that makes smart products smarter. OMNi solutions provide multiple paths to autonomy and equip the ag professional to get more, do more, and give more from their operation.
“We understand the importance of quickly scaling and adopting new power platforms, farming applications, and implements into purpose-built autonomous agricultural machines,” said Dominic Walkes, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Raven. “OMNiDRIVE™ is a significant growth platform and we are actively working with OEM partners to release compatibility on additional tractors and implements. We are excited about the opportunities rolling out under the OMNi prefix as it ties our entire portfolio together and helps to provide the entire solution from top to bottom for the farmer.”
OMNiDRIVE™ is Raven’s aftermarket technology kit that transforms existing tractors into driverless machines. It is the first farming application that allows the farmer to monitor and operate a driverless tractor from the cab of the harvester so the harvester can offload on-the-go, then return the tractor and grain cart to a predetermined unloading area — all without a second driver.
