Innovation in the tree nursery: the grafting robot from Boomkwekerij ’t Kempke and Horti Robotics

We, from Boomkwekerij ’t Kempke and Horti Robotics (www.hortirobotics.com) jointly developed a grafting robot that can handle different types of woody plants and also offers a higher quality standard than traditional methods. With our robot we want to create a higher number of viable grafted plants, with less manpower. To achieve this goal we have to test a lot with a large diversity of plant species. Boomkwekerij ’t Kempke and Horti Robotics received a subsidy for this test program from the European Regional Development Fund in the East of the Netherlands (EFRO Oost), a European subsidy program to which the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel also contribute. This scheme is specifically intended for testing new applications and solutions from SMEs, so that innovations can be brought to the market more quickly.