Agricultural machinery and technology manufacturer AGCO announced that it has an agreement to purchase Appareo Systems. Headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, and with a facility in Paris, Appareo is well-known in aviation as the manufacturer of ADS-B avionics, including the Stratus series of ADS-B In receivers and the Stratus ESG transponder, as well as lightweight flight data/video recorders and USB chargers. Appareo also offers the Stratus Insight iOS electronic flight bag/moving-map app, built on Appareo’s purchase of Aerovie in 2019.
Appareo specializes in products “focused on communication, monitoring, sensing, tracking and controlling devices and systems used in the agricultural and aviation industries as well as other off-road businesses,” according to an AGCO statement. AGCO plans to retain the Appareo team and operations in Fargo and Paris and will continue serving the aviation market.
“AGCO has no plans for divestiture and we intend to continue providing technology-rich solutions to our existing customers,” Greg Peterson, v-p, investor relations, told AIN. “Agriculture will continue to be the main focus, but as technology continues to progress we’ll likely see overlaps into other industries.”
“We see Appareo as a great addition to support delivering high quality, smart solutions to our farmers to maximize both their user experience and profitability,” said Eric Hansotia, AGCO chairman, president, and CEO. “The addition of Appareo enhances our portfolio and talent as we execute our strategy to provide advanced technology solutions to farmers around the world.”
AGCO expects the acquisition to close in January 2022.