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Denso Corp. is making a push to automate more of its agricultural business as the Japanese company, which primarily supplies car parts, eyes a bigger share of an industry it says could surpass ¥2 trillion ($13 billion) by 2035.
The market is growing for industrialized greenhouses capable of providing fresh produce consistently amid climate change as well as shortages of workers, Yasushi Mukai, Denso’s executive officer in charge of its food value chain business, said in an interview.
While the company’s share of the ¥700 billion market for greenhouses and adjacent segments is only about 2%, Mukai said there’s a lot of room to grow, though he declined to name a specific target.
Denso’s revenue mostly comes from its business as a supplier to Toyota Motor Corp. and other Toyota group companies. But last year, it touted new growth markets as a “second pillar” of its business.
It aims to have those second businesses account for around ¥300 billion in sales by the 2030 fiscal year and comprise 20% of overall revenue by 2035. Greenhouses will be part of that through the use of Denso’s know-how in automated machinery and air ventilation.
To that end, Denso last year acquired Dutch greenhouse maker and horticultural solutions provider Certhon Build BV. In May, it began taking orders for an automated tomato-picking machine. Mukai said it hopes to supply 300 units in the next three years and expand into North America.
“Everywhere in the world we can grow a feasible crop, we can build a greenhouse,” Certhon Build CEO Lotte van Rijn said last week in the joint interview. Climate change and a shortage of water and laborers have made it necessary to improve agricultural practices to ensure long-term food supply, he said.
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