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AVL Motion: harvest robot solves major problem for growers

Entrepreneurial story
Every spring, numerous consumers eagerly anticipate the start of the asparagus season. To serve everyone, thousands of seasonal workers (mostly labor migrants) work on the asparagus fields for two to three months. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for growers to find and retain qualified asparagus pickers.
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AVL Motion has the solution: a harvesting robot. The AVL Compact S9000 harvests up to 9,000 asparagus per hour, 30 times (!) more than a human. BOM supports the company from the Brabant town of Westerbeek.

AVL Motion's harvesting robot has another major advantage over humans: it can harvest seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. AVL Motion launched the first version of the harvesting robot in the spring of 2021. The robot offers a solution to the increasingly pressing labor shortage and rising labor costs for asparagus growers. As inventor and founder of AVL Motion, Arno van Lankveld, puts it: “Our robot is fast, reliable, and delivers under all conditions.”

Son of an asparagus farmer

Arno van Lankveld knows everything about 'the white gold' as the son of an asparagus farmer. In 2017, he combined that background with his knowledge in Automotive Engineering. Van Lankveld: “I saw the struggle of growers in attracting and retaining qualified staff for the harvest. That was the driving force behind the development of the robot. With this machine, only a fraction of the current workforce is needed. The lower harvesting costs and the higher yield of the harvested asparagus make for an attractive business case.” With the machine, labor costs for asparagus growers go down by 80 percent.

I saw the struggle of growers with attracting and retaining qualified staff for the harvest. That was the driving force behind the development of the robot.
Arno van Lankveld, AVL Motion

Learn more

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Stijn Vestjens

Investment Manager

How does the harvesting robot work?

Thanks to an ingenious gondola system, the harvesting modules of the AVL S9000 continuously rotate. This system works closely with camera detection to extract harvest-ready asparagus from the ground. The machine can be used in any field without modifications. Only one operator is needed to let the robot do its work. The operator uses a remote control to send the robot to an asparagus bed, where the machine autonomously gets to work.

Lightweight and fully electric

The cameras are equipped with smart software. The system quickly assesses whether it sees an asparagus or something else. If it's an asparagus, a coordinate is created. Based on this, the harvesting module knows exactly where to position itself. The module hovers over the asparagus, descends into the ground, cuts the asparagus at the bottom, lifts it out of the bed, and places it on a conveyor belt. All the asparagus end up with the operator via the belt, who places them in a crate. The AVL S9000 is fully electric and lightweight, preventing soil compaction in the field.

Award-winning concept

The invention stands out and gains recognition. In 2023, AVL Motion won first prize for the perfect use case at the Robotics & Smart Implements Challenge of RWA and LTC in Vienna. In 2023, the company also took third place in the robotics category at the agritech fair World FIRA in Toulouse.

BOM support

In 2019, AVL Motion received an investment of 1 million euros from Brightlands Agrifood Fund, BOM, and Future Food Fund. This allowed AVL Motion to further develop the harvest robot. In 2022, new investments followed: an Innovation Credit from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and a financial boost from existing shareholders Brightlands Agrifood Fund, Future Food Fund, and BOM. This enabled AVL Motion to scale up the company and take the step towards market introduction.

BOM also provides support with guidance and advice. In the early stages, the AVL Motion team also participated in the Investor Readiness Program to increase the investability of the company. BOM and AVL Motion also regularly brainstorm together about the opportunities, challenges, and future of the company. BOM also shares its network of (production) partners and potential co-financiers with AVL Motion to bring the right expertise on board.

We invest, among other things, in the robot from AVL Motion because it contributes to a sustainable food supply.
Stijn Vestjens, Investment Manager at BOM

‘Contribution to sustainable food supply’

Stijn Vestjens, Investment Manager at BOM: “We invest in AVL Motion's robot because it contributes to sustainable food supply. And because the company addresses the issues surrounding seasonal workers. It is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain qualified personnel in the Netherlands and Brabant. The robot from AVL Motion works very precisely, causing less damage to the asparagus plant and increasing the yield of an asparagus field. Thanks to these smart technologies, growers achieve a higher yield from their fields and can realize a more future-proof, attractive business case.”

New crops

AVL Motion continues to develop to make the harvesting robot suitable for other crops that, like white asparagus, need to be harvested selectively. Such as green asparagus, zucchinis, broccoli, and cauliflower. Within ten years, the company aims to sell 300 harvest machines per year. In the Netherlands, but especially abroad. In 2024, the harvesting robot will also be operational in Germany to introduce growers there to the added value of AVL Motion's technology.

This was the contribution of BOM in the AVL Motion case

Developing

  • Participation in the Investor Readiness Program.
  • Brainstorming about the company's opportunities, challenges, and future.
  • Sharing network of (production) partners and potential co-financiers with AVL Motion.

Investing

  • In 2019, AVL Motion received an investment of 1 million euros from Brightlands Agrifood Fund, BOM, and Future Food Fund

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