TULARE, Calif. (KERO) — One of the hottest new products on display at the World Agricultural Expo in Tulare was the result of two companies teaming up and creating an innovative new solution to labor shortages in the agriculture industry.
Israeli-based robotics company Tevel teamed up with Tulare County company S&S Metal Fabrication to develop an autonomous harvesting system. Tevel had already made the flying robot harvesters, but they needed a mobile platform where the drones could place the fruit.
"They actually came to us last year at the World Ag Expo and saw what we were doing with our platform and picking fruit," says S&S Metal Fabrication CEO Denver Silva. "They were looking for someone they can partner with, especially here in the Valley."
The Expo in Tulare, which is one of the biggest agriculture shows in the world, allowed Tevel to find and approach S&S Metal Fabrication.
"I had never heard of them, to be honest," admitted Silva. "To be honest, when I saw them, I thought 'This is way out there." The more and more we talked, and I kept looking at it, I thought 'Man, this actually is a viable option.'"
Silva says one of the benefits of partnering with a company on the other side of the world is when they're getting ready to go home here in the U.S., the Israel team is just waking up, ready to start their day.
Another connection Tevel had been hoping to make at the Ag Expo is with prospective employees. Tevel is hiring Field Operators on the West Coast. For more information, visit Tevel's website.
