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Partnership with OMRON Corporation announced

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OMRON invests in a company dealing with agricultural control systems OMRON Ventures' first investment project | OMRON

http://www.omron.co.jp/press/2015/05/c0515.html

OMRON VENTURES K.K. (PRESIDENT & CEO: TAKASHI OZAWA) HAS DECIDED TO INVEST IN PLANT LIFE SYSTEMS CORPORATION (HEAD OFFICE: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN; REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTOR: TAKAYUKI MATSUOKA; HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS PLS), A PIONEERING VENTURE COMPANY IN CULTIVATION CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR HORTICULTURE. THIS IS OMRON'S FIRST INVESTMENT SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT IN JULY 2014. THROUGH THIS INVESTMENT, OMRON WILL PROCEED WITH TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION VERIFICATION WITH THE AIM OF ENTERING THE AGRICULTURAL CONTROL SYSTEM MARKET.

Today, as demand for food increases due to global population growth, there is a growing need to secure a stable supply of agricultural workers and improve productivity. In order to build a strong agriculture, Japan is considering and implementing various regulatory reforms and deregulation in order to strengthen competitiveness by consolidating and enlarging farmland, but at present there are still many small-scale farmers, making it difficult to expand and consolidate farming, and the number of workers is aging. In addition, there is a need to grow high value-added products with reduced environmental impact and to secure profits through appropriate distribution and sales.

PLS HAS USED ITS EXPERTISE IN NUMERICAL ANALYSIS SOFTWARE TO DEVELOP CONTROL TECHNOLOGY FOR AUTOMOTIVE AND MEDICAL APPLICATIONS. PLS HAS APPLIED ITS CONTROL TECHNOLOGY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTIVATION OPTIMISATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND PLANT MANAGEMENT IN AGRICULTURE, MAINLY FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED FARMERS. PLS'S CONTROL TECHNOLOGY IS HIGHLY COMPATIBLE WITH OMRON'S SENSING AND CONTROL-BASED AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY, AND SYNERGIES ARE EXPECTED. IN ADDITION, PLS HAS ITS OWN FARM, WHICH WILL SIGNIFICANTLY SHORTEN THE TIME REQUIRED FOR THE START-UP AND COMMERCIALISATION OF THE PROJECT.

THROUGH THIS INVESTMENT IN AND SUPPORT FOR PLS, OMRON WILL PROVIDE ITS ACCUMULATED BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW TO SUPPORT PLS IN THE JOINT DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF GROWTH PREDICTION AND CONTROL TECHNOLOGY.

We have also opened an experimental farm in Wuxi, China, in partnership with a local company. Two of the 400 greenhouses planned to be set up on an area of around 200,000 square metres have now been put into operation. A total of 30 sensors of six different types will be installed in the greenhouses to monitor the farm environment and the growing conditions of the vegetables and fruit.

OMRON Ventures Co., Ltd. will contribute to solving various social issues in Japan and overseas by supporting the development of companies that create new added value through OMRON's unique "sensing and control" technology and investment, and by actively forming alliances with promising companies.

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