There are about 100 companies located on campus. We introduce you to one of them in every issue of Resource. This time: Kubota in Plus Ultra II.
A newcomer arrived on the Wageningen campus a few months ago: the Innovation Centre Europe of Kubota, a Japanese multinational with 40,000 employees, which makes agricultural machinery. In Japan the company mainly develops machinery for rice cultivation; in Europe it focuses on tractors and agricultural vehicles for arable farming, fruit and vegetable growing, and vineyards.
Kubota works on smart farming and wants ‘to be part of the Wageningen ecosystem of knowledge companies,’ says Peter van der Vlugt, manager of the innovation centre. He started work recently in Plus Ultra II, together with a staff of 10 and a few student interns, but because of the coronavirus measures, it is all quiet there now.
We have vacancies, because our business continues to grow in spite of the coronavirus crisis.
The machinery manufacturer has been collaborating with WUR for about 20 years, mainly with the Agrosystems Research group at Wageningen Plant Research on the development of smart farm machinery. Kubota’s aim with the new innovation centre is to collaborate more with Wageningen startups, StartLife and One Planet (a partnership for sustainable technology). ‘We want to invest in promising young companies, so we are now studying how we can continue collaborating with One Planet in the areas of new technologies, products and services.’
Kubota is working with research institutes within public-private research projects funded by the EU and the Dutch ‘top sector’ Agrifood. The company focuses on the digitalization of farm machinery and harvesting processes, and on the development of artificial intelligence. Van der Vlugt: ‘We have vacancies, because our business continues to grow in spite of the coronavirus crisis. And we have internships, both in Wageningen and in our branch in Nieuw-Vennep.’ AS