On Thursday 28 October, Hillenraad100 presented the TECH50. Certhon, a company from Poeldijk with a high profile in horticultural technology, was named overall winner in the Biodiversity Center Naturalis. It has booked success on the international market and is active in the greatest number of tech domains ultimately required for autonomous cultivation.
In order to clarify the broad concept of horticultural technology, the TECH50 research team divided it into ten domains. In each domain, five Dutch companies were ranked according to a star rating. They were assessed by carefully comparing various business factors, such as growth potential, innovative and/or disruptive technology, tech as a revenue model, and substantial R&D investments. In addition, the opinion of the peer group with experts from the sector and the insight of the makers themselves were taken into consideration. More than 280 companies were studied, including both established companies as well as scale-ups and start-ups.
Hillenraad100
Overall winner
Certhon is the overall winner of the HillenraadTECH50 competition. This company is active in the greatest number of domains which will eventually lead to autonomous cultivation, compared to the competition, who may be active in one or two domains. As a turnkey greenhouse builder, Certhon supplies complete nurseries, as well as equipment for daylight-free cultivation with the company’s own process control technology for both vertical and daylight-free farms. It’s also working closely with shareholder Denso on a harvesting robot. John van der Sande and Lotte van Rijn of Certhon received the TECH50 award.
Inspiration Award
Swiss company Climeworks received the Priva Inspiration Award. Meiny Prins, CEO of Priva: “We’re encouraging businesses which are helping build a sustainable future through technological innovation. This is a future where people can enjoy a healthy working and living environment, and safe and nutritious food.”
Hillenraad100
Lightning-fast development
Once every two years, the Hillenraad100 ranks the 100 leading companies in Dutch (greenhouse) horticulture. Alternating with the bi-annual Hillenraad100, a themed edition is released - the HillenraadTECH50 was chosen for 2021. Through the TECH50, Hillenraad aims to clarify the rapid development of horticultural technology and help entrepreneurs to navigate these fast-paced advances.
The winners in each of the 10 domains:
Platforms: 30MHz
Data science: Blue Radix
Genetics & Biology: Enza Zaden
Greenhouse technology: Certhon
Light & LED: Signify
Robotics & Smart machinery: Gearbox Innovations
Sensing & data collection: PhenoVation
Smart logistics: Logiqs
Smart process control: Hoogendoorn Groep
Vertical Farming: PlantLab
CerthonABC Westland 555
P.O. Box 90
2685 ZH Poeldijk
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 174 22 50 80
Fax: +31 174 22 50 81
www.certhon.com