Solinftec begins manufacturing of autonomous field robots
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West Lafayette-based agricultural technology company Solinftec is partnering with a nearby manufacturer to begin production of its autonomous robots used to more efficiently detect and spray weeds on crops.
The Solix robots are solar-powered, can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are designed provide target spraying when weeds are detected at an early stage, which brings multiple benefits for farmers such as a reduced use of herbicide and higher crop yields.
Solinftec is investing more than $2 million to have Still Waters Manufacturing produce the robots at its facility in New Richmond, about 20 miles south of West Lafayette.
Chief Operations Officer Guilherme Guiné told Inside INdiana Business the small manufacturer is a good match for Solinftec.
“They are a small factory here in the region, but they are very close to the farmers; they have almost farmers working with them as well, and they know well how to produce equipment for them,” he said. “We should have someone that knows well this environment and how to produce it and how important it is to do what we are doing here. They have the right scale for us, and they have good background, good knowledge, especially talking about manufacturing products for agriculture and for farmers.”
Guiné said the company was connected to Still Waters Manufacturing with the help of the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network.
The New Richmond factory has the capacity to produce up to 20 Solix robots per day. Still Waters CEO Jake Church said building the robots in Indiana is “something truly special.”
“They will come out of what used to be a school, where many farmers and livestock producers in this area received their primary education,” Church said in written remarks. “This venture is an opportunity to ‘rewrite’ history. This will be the first agricultural robotics factory in the American Midwest.”
Solinftec was founded in Brazil and established its U.S. headquarters at the Purdue Research Park in early 2019. Later that year, the company announced it was moving its global headquarters to West Lafayette.
The company unveiled the Solix robot in 2022. The robot can cover up to 96 acres per day, depending on terrain, Solinftec said, and can spray crops up to five feet tall.
Guiné said the early feedback from farmers has been very positive, with many seeing a very high reduction in the use of herbicide since implementing the robots.
“We had up to 97% less chemical used in the post application in last season with the same weed control,” he said. ” And also in some places, we saw higher yields; in one field, we got two bushels [more] than a regular sprayer using the same chemicals. The only difference there was the robots. And this is what the farmers love most—reduce the cost and increase their yields. At the end, that promotes higher profits.”
But production of the robots is not only taking place in Indiana. Guiné said they also have manufacturing operations in Brazil and Canada as part of an effort to keep production close to local farmers.
Even when the planting season is done, manufacturing of the robots will continue. Guiné said the company is considering establishing new operations in Florida and California, and the New Richmond plant will produce robots and ship them to those locations.
Guiné said the company is excited to have the first agricultural robotics manufacturing plant in Indiana.
“We are very proud, especially because we are working with someone in the region,” he said. “The idea, again, is to grow the region, hiring people in the region and make that happen here where the farmers are.”