High-tech scale up Kind Technologies expands its position in the horticulture greenhouse market by acquiring Martin Stolze B.V., an international specialist in the automation of internal transport. With this acquisition Kind Technologies implements its strategy to substantially focus on R&D, services and strategic alliances and acquisitions.

Increasing demand for technology and automation within the horticulture and food processing worldwide

Martin Stolze and Kind Technologies see an increasing demand for automation within the agriculture & food market world-wide. Rising labor costs and scarcity, focus on food safety and the use of data for process improvement are important drivers for the growth strategy of the companies.

Kind Technologies is a frontrunner in this area and is active within the horticulture with its brands KOAT and Crux Agribotics. It has developed the award-winning SortiPack® system for automatic grading, sorting and packing of organic products, fruits and vegetables, enabling greenhouse growers and packing centers to scale up productivity with less dependence on human labor and to utilize crop data available from the system.

Relevant combined forces

Martin Stolze (http://martinstolze.nl) has been an expert in the internal transport of products in horticulture, distribution- and packaging centers since its establishment in 1991. This long experience, complete product portfolio, own production and service capacity make Martin Stolze a leading manufacturer, supplier and integrator for complete internal transport automation projects. The company has grown strongly in recent years with its internal transport product portfolio including conveyor belts, buffer belts, potting machines, roller conveyors, watering stations, chain- and potting forks, which are sold internationally.

Martin Stolze is therefore a valuable extension of the portfolio of Kind Technologies. After this expansion, Kind Technologies consists of more than 200 engineers and technicians dedicated to bringing its technologies to the market. Managing Director Wido Kruijswijk will continue to lead Martin Stolze with the existing team. Martin Stolze with its 57 employees will remain based in De Lier (The Netherlands) and will continue its activities under its current name. Martin Stolze will remain involved as external advisor.

“Essential to further strengthen the growth and continuity of Martin Stolze”

“I am very happy and proud that the Kind Technologies group sees our added value and potential’ says Martin Stolze, the former owner and founder of the company. ‘It was key for me, to guarantee the continuity of the company for our employees, customers and other stakeholders’. ‘By joining this innovative high-tech group, we can access their experience in managing growth and further professionalize our business processes, attract new talent and expand our offering’.

“Enormous potential in automating horticulture and packaging centers worldwide”

‘With this steppingstone expansion, we accelerate our growth strategy within the horticulture’, says Alex E. Kind, CEO of Kind Technologies. ‘We see enormous potential in automating the typical manual processes within greenhouses and packing centers globally’. ‘With this acquisition we secure our presence in the  greenport region Westland,  the world’s most innovative region in the field of greenhouse horticulture’. ‘We are positioning ourselves to be the system supplier of choice for the full horticulture value chain including growers, greenhouse builders, installation and automation companies. Our strategy is based on significant investments in R&D, services and strategic partnerships within the industry combined with strategic acquisitions such as Martin Stolze and KOAT in 2019’.

No further details will be disclosed.

ABOUT Kind Technologies

Kind Technologies is as high-tech group specialized in industrial automation with Robotics, Computer Vision and AI.
As Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) it delivers systems worldwide to the Agriculture & Food and Pharma markets. In these markets, where quality cannot be compromised, its technology warrants patient- and food safety.

Kind Technologies is on a mission to contribute to a better world where plant, food and medicines are better distributed over the world and resource scarcity is addressed through advanced automation. With our technology, we want to contribute to a world where the population can grow, without anyone having to suffer from hunger. A world where availability of authentic medicines is a basic provision. Our roadmap around Industrial Automation, Robotics, Computer Vision and AI enable more efficient and scalable production processes where quality is safeguarded and all intermediate steps can be tracked and traced across value chains.

Leading brands and members of the group are Beltech, Vimec Applied Vision Technology, Crux Agribotics and KOAT.

Kind Technologies is active worldwide and headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with another office and production location in Someren, The Netherlands. In 2018, Gimv N.V. (Euronext: GIMB) joined as shareholder to provide Kind Technologies with capital and support to realize its growth strategy based on organic growth combined with strategic add-on acquisitions.

More information on Kind Technologies can be found on www.kindtechnologies.nl

More information on Crux Agribotics can be found on www.cruxagribotics.com and www.sortipack.com

More information on KOAT can be found on www.koat.nl

Be Kind to the world.

ABOUT Martin Stolze

Since 1991 Martin Stolze has developed into a total supplier for the automation of internal transport for the horticultural greenhouse sector. Martin Stolze represents service and quality. As a result, Martin Stolze has already served thousands of satisfied customers all over the world.

In its own factory a complete product portfolio is designed, produced and assembled including conveyor belts, buffer belts, potting machines, roller conveyors, watering stations and many other products to make the work in and around greenhouses easier. The modular and scalable product portfolio can be combined in total projects and equipped with full computer control. Martin Stolze also offers value-added services to assist and guide OEMs, partners, resellers and customers in realizing complete automation projects. Martin Stolze also has a rental department in which a large part of the product portfolio can be rented for a defined period.

We are happy to help you by ‘taking the work out of your hands’.

More information on Martin Stolze can be found on www.martinstolze.nl

For further information please contact:

Charlotte Jannes, Kind Technologies

T: +31 40 747 0401 – E: Charlotte.jannes@kindtechnologies.nl

Sascha Veltrop, Martin Stolze

T: +31 17 451 8113 – E: marketing@martinstolze.nl