US-based CNH Industrial, owner of agricultural equipment machinery company Case IH, actively engages with startups around the world to identify new and innovative solutions. The two companies first met in 2019 at the AgriFutures EvokeAg conference and Case IH immediately recognised the potential of Zetifi’s unique approach to solving the issue of poor network coverage on farms using power-efficient long-range Wi-Fi.
This introduction has since developed into a productive partnership between Zetifi and Case IH Australia/New Zealand, through a series of successful customer trials involving a portable Wi-Fi repeater fitted to a tractor, enabling a machine’s telematics, remote support and data transfer capabilities; along with Wi-Fi calling, messaging, email and internet access for the machine’s operator. As a result of these successful Australian trials, Zetifi is looking to replicate these trials in other markets and is in discussions with large US Case IH dealership, Monroe Tractor, which has multiple locations across New York State.
This project has been made possible by Zetifi’s involvement in the 2020 Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Competition, of which Zetifi has just been named a finalist. Beyond the chance to secure some welcome funding from the $3M prize money available, it has allowed the company to make some valuable contacts in New York State and potentially offer its technology to farmers in the US experiencing similar coverage problems to their counterparts in rural and regional Australia.
