Topcon Acquires KEE Technologies

Topcon Positioning Systems Inc. (TPS) (CA, USA) has acquired KEE Technologies Pty Ltd., an Australian-based company with more than 25 years experience in agricultural electronics and applications, focuses on the precision agriculture market.

Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of TPS said that this strategic move improves the focus for Topcon’s agricultural segment and is another step in Topcon its plan to grow their business around the world. “Topcon moved into the construction market approximately 10 years ago with less than 1% of the market; today we have approximately 40% share.

“Combining Topcon and KEE and leveraging Topcon-Sauer Danfoss (TSD), our joint venture company, which provides approximately 70% of the worldwide steering hydraulics for tractors, should allow us to easily achieve our minimum target of 40% market share,” he said.

KEE currently provides agricultural users a fully integrated solution with its single console ZYNX system, which allows farming equipment – seeders, sprayers, spreaders, and harvesters – to be monitored and controlled in real time and provides exemplary environmental risk management. KEE’s Auto Section Control (ASC) and Variable Rate Control (VRC) technology reduces operator costs, improves yields, increases overall productivity, and ensures greater sustainable environmental management.KEE products monitor and regulate precision spraying of crops, on-site machine guidance, and its software (ZYNX) controls seeding, spraying, and spreading applications.

The KEE management team will remain in place and all current KEE employees, numbering more than 70, will remain with the new company. With the addition of the KEE staff members, TPS now has almost 700 employees worldwide.