KARIYA, JAPAN, July 4, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - DENSO CORPORATION announced that it has acquired Axia Vegetable Seeds, a vegetable seed breeding company headquartered in the Netherlands and focused on developing high-quality tomato seeds for greenhouses globally. The acquisition marks a step forward in DENSO’s strategic expansion into the AgriTech sector.
In recent years, food shortages caused by climate change and population growth have become global challenges, and the companies have recognized the growing need to develop stable agricultural production capable of reliably producing and supplying food to meet demand.
By integrating its industrial technologies developed for automobiles with the specialized cultivation expertise of various partners, DENSO accelerates the development of innovative cultivation methods, such as data-driven cultivation.
Founded in the heart of the Dutch greenhouse industry, Axia Vegetable Seeds develops a wide range of high-performing tomato seeds known for their high disease resistance, good taste, quality and high yield, and distributes them on a global scale.
Moving forward, DENSO and Axia Vegetable Seeds will collaborate to combine industrial technology with seed development to create high-quality seeds suitable for automated farming approaches and climate adaptation. Additionally, by leveraging DENSO's image recognition and AI technologies, the two companies aim to shorten the development period of new seeds and bring higher value-added seeds to market more quickly.
Through these initiatives, the companies will build cultivation solutions that enable stable and planned production from seed to harvest, meet producers’ diverse needs, help workforces to prioritize high-value work, and aim to achieve sustainable agriculture worldwide.
DENSO CORPORATION
Food Value Chain Business Development Division
Executive Officer
Yasushi Mukai
"We are delighted to welcome Axia Vegetable Seeds, with its outstanding development capabilities and know-how in the seed industry, as a member of the DENSO Group. By integrating the technologies and expertise of both the DENSO Group and Axia, we will create new value and realize our vision of providing safe and delicious food anytime, anywhere, and for everyone.”
AXIA VEGETABLE SEEDS
CEO & COO
Alois van Vliet & Sandor van Vliet
“Joining DENSO allows us to accelerate our mission of delivering the best quality tomato seeds globally boosted by exciting opportunities with controlled environment automation and AI technologies. Together with our talented employees and partners, we continue to bring transformative innovations to growers worldwide – making agriculture smarter, more sustainable, and more productive. Our mission is to become the world leader in tomato seeds for the greenhouse industry. We are grateful for our shareholders such as Temasek, Kleiner Perkins, WP Global Partners, and other shareholders.”
Overview of Axia Group
| 1. Company Name |
Axia Vegetable Seeds B.V. |
| 2. Established |
2010 |
| 3. Head Office |
Monnikenlaan 6B 2671 NE Naaldwijk Netherlands |
| 4. CEO & COO |
Alois van Vliet & Sandor van Vliet |
| 5. Revenue* |
48 million euros (as of 2024) |
| 6. Number of Employees |
132(full-time) |
*From the audited financial report for 2024
Scenes from the ceremony celebrating the acquisition and groundbreaking partnership
From left: AXIA VEGETABLE SEEDS CEO Alois van Vliet,
DENSO CORPORATION Food Value Chain Business Development Division
Executive Officer Yasushi Mukai
About DENSO CORPORATION
DENSO is a global automotive parts manufacturer that provides advanced automotive technologies, systems, and products. Leveraging the core technologies it has developed through its experience in automotive components, DENSO is expanding the scope of its value offerings to include factory automation, food distribution, agriculture (AgriTech), and more. Among these, in order to deliver safe and reliable food—essential to people’s daily lives—DENSO positions agriculture as an important business domain. Through automated harvesting using robots equipped with sensing technologies and through digital-based cultivation environment control, DENSO is working toward the industrialization of farms.https://www.denso.com/global/en/
About Axia Vegetable Seeds B.V.
Axia Vegetable Seeds is an independent seed company based in the Netherlands, specializing in the breeding and development of high-quality vegetable varieties with a strong focus on tomato. With a strong foundation in R&D and deep understanding of growers’ needs, Axia Vegetable Seeds delivers innovation to the greenhouse horticulture industry worldwide.https://www.axiaseeds.com/