Agricultural equipment

Agricultural spraying

We are the spraying experts, applying the right dose in the right place at the right time.

The business

EXEL Industries is a global leader in agricultural spraying equipment that markets a wide variety of brands, each with its own distinctive character: Hardi, Evrard, Berthoud, Tecnoma, Nicolas, Matrot, CMC, Agrifac and Apache. These brands cover a comprehensive range of products designed to protect and improve agricultural productivity, whether for small or large-scale crops, vines, market gardens, fruit trees or tropical crops.

Sprayer brands are marketed by independent networks of approved dealers who provide both sales and after-sales services. The Group’s development on all continents also enables it to limit the offset the impact of regional climatic variations on its businesses.

In 2021, The Group decided to launch France Pulvé which objective is to be the federation of EXEL’s independant French brands such as Nicolas, Evrard, Berthoud, Tecnoma, CMC and Matrot, having thei own specific market positioning, under a common management.

Strategy

EXEL Industries’ potential for growth lies in developing its sales in geographic areas where there is the potential to improve agricultural yields, such as CIS, North America, China, Australia and, in the longer term, Africa.

In Europe, and more particularly in France, political and social factors are prompting a big reduction in the use of plant protection products in farming. In order to significantly reduce the quantities of plant protection products, our strategy is to improve the accuracy of spraying using new technologies such as precision farming, electronics, automation, confined spraying and artificial intelligence to identify the plants to be treated.

This strategy allows the Group to operate in all of the world’s major agricultural regions (Europe, CIS, the Americas, Asia and Australia).

Key figures

€525m

revenue in 2022–2023

 

48%

of total Group sales

 

10

production sites

 

1,785

permanent employees

Learn more about our product families

Product ranges
Sprayer trailed by a tractor
Sprayer mounted on a tractor
Spraying equipment may be motorized (self-propelled).
High-clearance tractors have three or four wheels and can straddle one or two rows of vines.
Market
Our range of mounted, trailed and self-propelled sprayers for large-scale crop farming covers all requirements for plantations of all sizes.
The largest range of vine sprayers on the market covering all vineyard layouts: wide, intermediate and narrow.
Spraying equipment specially designed for orchards.

Innovation

Spot spraying: BERTHOUD intensifies its tests

The environmental context and the new legislation resulting from it (Ecophyto 2 plan, ZNT, Glyphosate, etc.) are forcing farmers and winegrowers to review their practices in order to reduce the doses of plant protection products sprayed per hectare. In 2019, Berthoud presented its first work on spot spraying, a technology for real-time weed detection. The system consists of several cameras fixed directly to the sprayer boom to scan the crop.

Using an algorithm previously established with the help of artificial intelligence, the search for the target is carried out in real time. Detection coupled with the Spraytronic nozzle-to-nozzle function means that the target can be treated directly. In 2020, the company carried out its second test campaign. The results show a very significant reduction of up to 85% in the amount of plant protection product sprayed per hectare.

 

Our brands

  • BERTHOUD designs and manufactures a wide range of sprayers with capacities of 200 to 6,700 liters designed for large-scale crop farming and winegrowing. Harnessing its extensive expertise in spraying, BERTHOUD provides bespoke solutions to all your requirements for all types of farming operation.

  • HARDI is committed to meeting the ever-growing demand for more efficient and precise crop protection systems. HARDI is a pioneer in the application of phytosanitary products. Continuous development and innovation are essential in order to achieve such a status. HARDI has adopted a long-term commitment to protecting plants.

  • MATROT self-propelled agricultural sprayers are the fruit of over 50 years of experience, listening and anticipating user requirements. The brand’s extensive range of self-propelled sprayers are the ideal solution to make life easier for farmers and farm managers.

  • Since its inception in 1871, NICOLAS SPRAYERS has specialized in spraying solutions for vineyards and orchards. Formerly based in Saint-Denis-de-L’Hôtel in the Loire valley, the current production plant is located at Epernay in the SUPRAY TECHNOLOGIES skills center.

  • APACHE Equipment Technologies designs and manufactures the Apache range of mechanical transmission self-propelled sprayers. APACHE spraying equipment is marketed via a network of its own and independent dealers in North America, Ukraine and Australia.

  • Specializing in protection for all type of crop, TECNOMA supplies a comprehensive range of sprayers and high-clearance tractors. The brand is a longstanding expert in plastics and injection technology. All tanks, induction bowls, nozzles, connectors and a wide range of other components are manufactured at the Epernay plant located in the SUPRAY Technologies skills center.

  • EVRARD offers a comprehensive range of mounted, trailed and self-propelled agricultural sprayers designed and manufactured in France
    and marketed worldwide.

  • AGRIFAC develops and manufactures innovative, eco-friendly self-propelled sprayers. Assembly takes place at the Netherlands’ most eco-friendly plant. As a result, all AGRIFAC machines contribute to the development of sustainable farming. AGRIFAC goes beyond precision farming.

  • CMC manufactures high-clearance tractors. The CMC range is constantly being adapted to meet changing customer requirements. Based in the heart of the Champagne region, CMC manufactures most of its high-clearance tractors at the PRECICULTURE plant in Fère-Champenoise.

  • Specializing in precision farming solutions, EXXACT ROBOTICS manufactures automated agricultural vehicles able to monitor their environment in order to meet specific requirements in winegrowing and large-scale crop farming. The company seeks to provide sustainable solutions for major agricultural transitions by reducing the use of plant protection products and developing new practices (biocontrol, agro-ecology, simplified farming techniques) involving high-precision spraying.

Solutions

Sugar beet harvesting

Industrial spraying

Technical hoses

Garden watering and spraying