Monarch Tractor heads to Europe
The MK-V, which can also be used without a driver as an option, came to Europe for the first time in autumn 2023. At the time, it was presented at Agritechnica in Hanover, among other events, and completed a tour with exhibitions, demonstrations and tests in vineyards and orchards. According to the company, the model was received with enthusiasm and support by European farmers across the board.
So far, sales have focussed on the USA and Canada. “With Monarch’s ongoing strategic growth journey, the expansion to Europe is a logical next step with planned local manufacturing, an R&D hub, a digital center of excellence, and its EU headquarters in Flanders, Belgium,” says CEO Praveen Penmetsa. The plan is clearly not just to have a European headquarters for sales.
The European team will be led by Stéphane Jacobs who, in his role as Managing Director of Europe, will oversee a leadership team responsible for the development and implementation of European market entry, growth and strategy. Jacobs previously served as Transition Manager Clean Power for Transport for the Government of the Flemish Region of Belgium.
“This milestone reflects our long-term engagement to serve the European market with a portfolio of solutions fulfilling the requirements of European farmers. Enthusiastic feedback from visitors from our booth at EIMA [Bologna, Italy] and Vinitech-Sifel [Bordeaux, France] confirms that we are on a promising path,” says Stéphane Jacobs.
Monarch Tractor completed a Series C financing round last summer and raised 133 million US dollars from investors. At that time, Monarch Tractor had already delivered the first 400 units of its MK-V e-tractor. The vehicle can perform pre-programmed tasks without a driver. There is also a shadow mode that allows the tractor to follow another tractor. It collects harvesting data and can analyse sensor data and video images from the implements. Monarch Tractor sees itself not only as a tractor manufacturer but also as an ecosystem. A key element of this is the AI-based farm management platform WingspanAI, which is being continuously developed.
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