ITK, a Montpellier-based company specialized in developing decision-making tools for farming, has signed a partnership agreement with the American giant Verizon Communications Inc.
This is a major milestone for ITK: the Montpellier-based company is now a partner of Verizon Communications, a New York company that employs some 177,000 people and operates the most robust wireless network in the United States. Laïd Hafssa, business director for ITK, explains: “Since last year, we have had a dozen clients in California using Vintel, our viticulture assistance and advisory tool. That drew Verizon’s attention. They chose us as a partner because our company is now pursuing new strategic directions, including efforts to focus on agriculture.”
Having recently created a subsidiary in California as a local relay, ITK will now be able to roll out its offering at a very large scale.
ITK was founded in Clapiers (Cap Alpha) in 2003, driven both by Eric Jallas, former researcher at CIRAD (International Agricultural Research for Development Center), based in Montpellier; and by European momentum pushing to transform fundamental research into viable business knowledge. The company benefited from assistance by the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Business and Innovation Centre (BIC).
Eric Jallas, specialized in agricultural modeling, developed decision-making tools linking scientific research with farming production to assist farmers with their transition towards agro-ecology. Starting in 2005, this expertise attracted Bayer laboratories, interested in fighting oidium and powdery mildew on grape vines. ITK continued its development through 2009, elaborating the Vintel project focusing on the issue of water use in viticulture. Vintel was launched commercially in 2013. The company began its first collaboration with an American company, Winfield, and created Cropwin, a tool dedicated to large crops.
Laïd Hafssa explains: “Today we have two major platforms: Vintel for long-term crops and Cropwin for major crops.” Leveraging its new partnership with Verizon, the company expects to increase its staff size to 60 people by the end of 2016: “Our presence in Montpellier first began because Eric Jallas worked at CIRAD. But it is also a strategic choice: there is a large pool of highly qualified professionals here thanks to organizations such as Sup Agro and Agropolis. There are many agricultural research laboratories conducting fundamental research that we are able to adapt and transform into concrete solutions to meet farm production challenges.”
Find out more:
- ITK
- Creating your company with the Montpellier BIC
- Join agricultural networks
Having recently created a subsidiary in California as a local relay, ITK will now be able to roll out its offering at a very large scale.
ITK was founded in Clapiers (Cap Alpha) in 2003, driven both by Eric Jallas, former researcher at CIRAD (International Agricultural Research for Development Center), based in Montpellier; and by European momentum pushing to transform fundamental research into viable business knowledge. The company benefited from assistance by the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Business and Innovation Centre (BIC).
Eric Jallas, specialized in agricultural modeling, developed decision-making tools linking scientific research with farming production to assist farmers with their transition towards agro-ecology. Starting in 2005, this expertise attracted Bayer laboratories, interested in fighting oidium and powdery mildew on grape vines. ITK continued its development through 2009, elaborating the Vintel project focusing on the issue of water use in viticulture. Vintel was launched commercially in 2013. The company began its first collaboration with an American company, Winfield, and created Cropwin, a tool dedicated to large crops.
Laïd Hafssa explains: “Today we have two major platforms: Vintel for long-term crops and Cropwin for major crops.” Leveraging its new partnership with Verizon, the company expects to increase its staff size to 60 people by the end of 2016: “Our presence in Montpellier first began because Eric Jallas worked at CIRAD. But it is also a strategic choice: there is a large pool of highly qualified professionals here thanks to organizations such as Sup Agro and Agropolis. There are many agricultural research laboratories conducting fundamental research that we are able to adapt and transform into concrete solutions to meet farm production challenges.”
Find out more:
- ITK
- Creating your company with the Montpellier BIC
- Join agricultural networks
