Partnership targets £4 million of ‘agritech’ business

A major new collaboration has been signed that will give ‘agritech’ innovators a single point of contact for contract manufacturing and electronics. PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) in Cheslyn Hay is partnering with Luton-based Jaltek Systems Ltd to target up to £4 million of new orders with UK organisations involved in indoor/vertical farming, automation, precision farming and remote sensing.

This relationship will help potential customers speed up time-to-market, maximise output and unlock value-add design and engineering by providing access to a comprehensive suite of production capabilities. If the predicted growth materialises then the additional revenue will help both firms create new jobs.

Garry Myatt, sales director at PP Control & Automation, said: “Agritech has grown 20% over the last five years and is seeing lots of investment, with £919.1 million of Innovate UK grant funding directed its way in recent years. There is a surging demand for new technology and the partnership with Jaltek — PP X Jaltek — is set up to streamline the path from blueprint to the field, working with innovators and companies to navigate the complexities around design, manufacture and funding.”

He continued: “This collaboration is not just about assembling mechanical parts or circuit boards. It’s about providing the sector with the arsenal to scale up swiftly and sustainably, turning good ideas into the very fabric of agricultural innovation.”

Strategic outsourcing solutions
PP C&A, which employs over 230 people at its 5,500m² facility, has evolved into an award-winning provider of strategic outsourcing solutions to over 30 of the world’s most successful machine builders.

The company is a firm advocate of collaborations and quickly saw the synergy and additional capabilities Jaltek could bring in contract electronic manufacturing, especially around its track record of helping start-ups and fledgling businesses deliver ideas from design concept to final product.

Mr Myatt added: “We both share a passion for facilitating innovation and making sure the UK benefits commercially from new technology and ‘disrupting’ the status quo. In particular, Jaltek’s expertise in PCBA layout, fast turnround new product introduction, test and final product assembly complements what PP C&A offer and, together, is a very attractive proposition.”

Claire Mackay, business development manager at Jaltek, said: “This is a fantastic example of two UK manufacturers joining forces to deliver a solution that a fast-growing market is looking for. There is so much innovation in this country, but a lot of the time it is commercialised elsewhere. We want to reverse that trend and feel agritech is the perfect sector for us to pioneer this new approach.”

PP X Jaltek is looking to bring new partners into the collaboration with a company specialising in pneumatic and electrical automation equipment set to join shortly. This will evolve over time to become a holistic supply chain, speeding up time-to-market and making product launches for OEMs even easier.

This will boost an existing working relationship with WMG and international discussions with Wageningen University and Research in Holland and the Simon Frazer University Centre for AgriTech Innovation (BCCAI) in British Columbia.