DENSO acquires Certhon

DENSO acquires full stake in Certhon Group, a Netherlands-based supplier of greenhouses

DENSO Corporation announced that it has acquired full shares in Certhon Group, a Dutch operator of horticultural facilities, with the aim of accelerating the global expansion of its agricultural production business.

In recent years, climate change and a decline in the number of people engaged in agriculture have led to unstable agricultural production, and the need to develop a stable and sustainable agricultural production system by creating a climate-independent growing environment and reducing labor shortages and heavy workloads. To solve these various problems in the food and agricultural sector, DENSO and Certhon formed a capital alliance in March 2020, and in May of the same year they jointly established DENSO AgriTech Solutions, Inc. which sells horticulture facility products to Japan and other Asian countries. Since then, the two companies have been involved in selling agricultural greenhouses suitable for every region of the world and have jointly developed solutions to solve future labor shortages.

Now, with the acquisition of all of shares of Certhon, the two companies will further accelerate their efforts to solve global food challenges by leveraging the strengths of both companies and the results of their previous collaboration. With a history of more than 125 years, Certhon is a leading company known for its advanced technologies in horticulture. The company excels not only in developing customized solutions for diverse customers, but also in integration capabilities that combine multiple systems to provide optimal proposals.

As a member of the DENSO Group, Certhon strives to develop innovative agricultural models that can change the way agriculture is done, and implement solutions worldwide that meet regional characteristics and needs by combining the process design and automation technologies developed of DENSO in the automotive industry with Certhon's cultivation and horticultural system technologies.

DENSO will continue to work to solve societal problems in the agriculture and food sectors and work to provide new value by establishing a food value chain business that includes production, distribution and consumption.

Hidehiro Yokoo, Senior Executive Officer of the Food Value Chain Business Development Division at DENSO, said, "Through the full acquisition of Certhon, we will accelerate our efforts to solve global food and agriculture challenges. We strongly believe Certhon is a unique partner with shared values and complementary technologies, and together we will continue to grow. DENSO will continue to work with Certhon to provide solutions that deliver food safety and security anytime, anywhere, forever."

"DENSO has an international network and a strong reputation for developing groundbreaking technology, and we look forward to further shaping the groundbreaking collaboration," said Lotte van Rijn, CEO of Certhon. "The investment of DENSO ensures that we can ensure continuity for our employees, customers and suppliers into the future. It provides opportunities that are essential for a company like Certhon, which always wants to push the boundaries of quality and innovation.