AGCO has acquired North American software, hardware and electronic specialist Appareo Systems. The purchase is expected to complete in January.

Based in Fargo, North Dakota, Appareo solutions focus on communication, monitoring, sensing, tracking and controlling devices and systems used in the agricultural and aviation industries as well as other off-road businesses.

Founded in 2003, the long list of products developed and  manufactured by Appareo include acoustic flow sensors for pneumatic seed drills and fertiliser spreaders, grain quality and material sensors for combines, smart cameras, optics and iPad based machine control and monitoring. All products are designed, built and tested in North America.

“We see Appareo as a great addition to support delivering high quality, smart solutions to our farmers to maximise both their user experience and profitability,” said AGCO top man Eric Hansotia.

AGCO is already one of the main customers for Appareo products (Challenger, Fendt, GSI and Massey Ferguson). Other farm machinery customers include Seed Hawk and Väderstad. AGCO intends to retain the Appareo team and maintain its operations in Fargo and Paris in France.