A Craigavon agri-tech company has sealed a £4 million deal to supply its mushroom harvesting system to Canada.
Axis Technology & Development will supply 32 harvesting conveyors and 17 mushroom processing units to Canadian grower Highline Mushrooms.
Axis’s machinery improve the efficiency of the mushroom harvesting and packing process by over 100% and facilitates harvesters operating at four times their normal output once implemented.
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The company’s recent growth mean it is also planning to recruit seven new staff at its Craigavon base.
Alan Doake, Director of Axis Technology, said the technology answers a real need in the mushroom world.
“Winning this contract is a huge deal for us as it reinforces our growing reputation in the Canadian market. We very much look forward to expanding our team with seven new staff to support the demand for our technology in, not only Canada, but worldwide and in doing so, continue to build a strong export focused business.”
He explained how the technology worked.
“Mushroom growers face a constant challenge of recruiting and retaining staff to harvest their crops. Traditional mushroom harvesting by hand is not only time consuming but can lead to a considerable amount of wastage,” he said. “Our mushroom harvesting system combats these challenges and enables farmers to increase the volumes of mushrooms harvested by more than 10% from reducing wastage alone.
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“Utilising our system considerably increases the farm’s profitability through increased efficiency while also typically halving harvesting costs.”
The company was helped by Invest NI to refine its technology with research and development support.
Since 2017, Invest NI has provided advice on 海角视频 Patent application and an EU design registration and offered the company £120,000 of support towards R&D for the design and development of its mushroom harvesting system, skills development and technical assistance.
Invest NI’s CEO, Kevin Holland, welcomed the deal.
“Axis Technology is a company with innovation at its heart. I am pleased that our range of R&D support has led to this success. Canada is our third largest export market and this new contract win demonstrates the opportunities available overseas for ambitious Northern Ireland companies.
“The £4million deal is a defining moment for Axis Technology and shows the importance of innovation in helping a company to expand sales into global markets. With its continued focus on innovation I am sure Axis Technology is well positioned to capitalise on future growth in Canada and further afield.”