Accelerating the Global Expansion of Agricultural Production Business

DENSO Corporation has announced that it has acquired the full stake in Certhon Group, a Dutch horticultural facility operator, with the aim of accelerating the global expansion of its agricultural production business.

In recent years, climate change and a decrease in the number of people taking up farming have led to unstable agricultural production, and the need to develop a stable and sustainable agricultural production system through the establishment of a climate-independent cultivation environment and the reduction of labor shortages and heavy workload. To solve these various issues in the food and agriculture field, DENSO and Certhon formed a capital alliance in March 2020, and in May of the same year jointly established DENSO AgriTech Solutions, Inc., which sells horticultural facility products to Japan and other Asian countries. Since then, the two companies have been involved in sales of agricultural greenhouses suited to each region of the world and have jointly developed solutions to solve future labor shortages.

Now, with the acquisition of all shares of Certhon by DENSO, the two companies will further accelerate their efforts to solve global food challenges by leveraging the strengths of both companies and the results of their past collaboration. With a history of more than 125 years, Certhon is a leading company renowned for its world-class advanced technologies in horticulture. The company excels not only in the development of solutions tailored to diverse customers, but also in integration capabilities that combine multiple systems to make optimal proposals. As a member of the DENSO Group, Certhon aims to develop innovative farm models that will change the way agriculture is conducted and to globally deploy solutions that meet regional characteristics and needs by combining DENSO's process design and automation technologies developed in the automotive field with Certhon's cultivation technologies and horticultural system technologies.

DENSO will continue to work towards solving social issues in the agricultural and food sectors and strive to provide new value by establishing a food value chain business encompassing production, distribution, and consumption.

Hidehiro Yokoo, Senior Executive Officer in charge of the Food Value Chain Business Development Division at DENSO, said, "Through the complete acquisition of Certhon, we will accelerate our efforts to solve global food and agricultural challenges. We firmly believe that Certhon is a unique partner with shared values and complementary technologies, and together we will continue to grow. DENSO will continue to collaborate with Certhon to provide solutions that deliver food safety and security, anytime, anywhere, and to anyone, forever."

"DENSO has an international network and a strong reputation for developing cutting-edge technology and we look forward to further shaping the ground-breaking collaboration," said Lotte van Rijn, CEO of Certhon. "DENSO's investment ensures that we can maintain continuity for our employees, customers and suppliers, also in the future. It provides opportunities that are essential for a company like Certhon, which always wants to push the boundaries of quality and innovation."

DENSO and Certhon will contribute to achieving the SDGs by helping resolve social issues through business operations.

References

DENSO and Certhon Establish DENSO AgriTech Solutions
https://www.denso.com/global/en/news/newsroom/2020/20200601-g01/
DENSO invests in Certhon Group, a greenhouse provider based in the Netherlands
https://www.denso.com/global/en/news/newsroom/2020/20200401-g02/
New horizons in agriculture through AI-based robotic "eyes"
https://www.denso.com/global/en/driven-base/tech-design/robot/

About DENSO CORPORATION
DENSO is a $47.9 billion global mobility supplier that develops advanced technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model on the road today. With manufacturing at its core, DENSO invests in its around 200 facilities to produce electrification, powertrain, thermal, mobility electronics, advanced devices to create jobs that directly change how the world moves. The company's around 165,000 employees are paving the way to a mobility future that improves lives, eliminates traffic accidents, and preserves the environment. Globally headquartered in Kariya, Japan, DENSO spent around 9.0 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. For more information about global DENSO, visit https://www.denso.com/global.