Ekotechnika and Cognitive Pilot establish Russia-wide service network for smart agricultural machinery

Cooperation agreement with joint venture of the Russian Sberbank

Walldorf, 17 July 2020 – Ekotechnika AG (primary market; ISIN: DE000A161234), the German holding company of the largest dealer of international agricultural machinery in Russia, will establish a nationwide service network for smart agricultural machinery in Russia in cooperation with Cognitive Pilot, a joint venture of the Russian Sberbank and the Cognitive Technologies Group. To this end, the two companies signed a three-year cooperation agreement.

The Ekotechnika service team will be in charge of consulting, sales, installation of software and hardware, maintenance and technical support for the “Cognitive Agro Pilot” system in 35 regions of Russia. The three-year contract provides for the system to be installed on up to 10,000 combines from various agricultural equipment manufacturers. Another essential part of the partnership will be the development of new smart farming solutions and products using Cognitive Pilot’s autonomous driving and control system.

Bjoerne Drechsler, member of the Executive Board of Ekotechnika AG: “We are continuously working to expand our range of smart farming services and solutions. The cooperation with Cognitive Pilot, the world’s leading developer of systems for autonomous operation of agricultural machinery, locomotives, trams and components for autonomous cars, is a strategic milestone and enables us to maintain our pioneering position in this field.”

“Cognitive Agro Pilot” is an autonomous control system based on artificial intelligence for agricultural machinery such as grain harvesters, tractors or sprayers. It lets machinery operators focus on the quality of harvesting while leaving the robot assistant to run the machinery. The system uses only one video camera as well as a neural network specifically designed for agricultural purposes that defines the correct trajectory of the combine and sends commands to perform maneuvers. This sets the system apart from foreign solutions, which generally use a whole set of sensors in their models, which often makes them dependent on weather conditions and light intensity. The system has already been successfully introduced in the USA, Brazil and China as well as in several Russian regions.

“Installing Cognitive Pilot’s autonomous motion systems and training the employees on the farms will make the harvest much more efficient,” says Bjoerne Drechsler, member of the Executive Board of Ekotechnika AG. “This will create more highly qualified jobs and the increased efficiency will allow agricultural operations to pay wages similar to those paid in other high-tech industries. Thanks to our nation-wide network of modern service centers, we will be able to rapidly expand the use of AI technologies throughout Russia and to offer our customers additional high-quality services on site.”

About Ekotechnika

Ekotechnika AG, Walldorf, is the German holding company of the EkoNiva-Technika Group, the largest distributor of agricultural machinery in Russia. The main partner and principal supplier is John Deere, the world’s largest and market-leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery. Ekotechnika’s main business lies in selling new equipment such as tractors and combines but also soil tillage machines. At the end of 2018, forestry machinery from Canadian manufacturer Tigercat was added to the portfolio. In addition, the company sells spare parts, provides service and maintenance and offers its customers smart farming technologies. Founder and Chairman of the Executive Board of Ekotechnika AG is Stefan Dürr, who has been active in the Russian farming sector since the late eighties and has been instrumental in its modernization over the past two decades. Operating 23 locations in five attractive Russian farming regions, Ekotechnika today employs around 570 people and generated sales revenues of around EUR 160 million in 2018/19. The Ekotechnika stock is listed on the Primary Market of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A161234) as well as on the Open Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Contact

Ekotechnika AG // Johann-Jakob-Astor-Str. 49 // 69190 Walldorf // T: +49 (0) 6227 3 58 59 60 // E: info@ekotechnika.de // www.ekotechnika.de

Press / Investor Relations

Fabian Kirchmann, Anna-Lena Mayer // IR.on AG // T: +49 (0) 221 9140 970 // E: presse@ekosem-agrar.de