A Precision Farming Legend is Retiring!
Ton van der Voort van der Kleij retired on the 1st of July, after a successful career at Kverneland Group.
Ton van der Voort van der Kleij is a name that many people in the agriculture and precision farming business know. Ton started as Project leader of Electronics for Vicon Nieuw-Vennep back in 1982. He was given the responsibility to set up an electronics department for agricultural implements, which is today known as Kverneland Group Mechatronics. This can be seen as quite an achievement, considering there was no internet back then.
Ton van der Voort van der Kleij (2017)
Ton and Mechatronics have had many achievements and success stories throughout the years, but the largest achievement is the development and implementation of the ISOBUS patent in the mid-’80s, which is a serial communication system and CAN-bus between the tractor and the implement. It made Kverneland Group known as “the ISOBUS company” for many years that followed.
It was important for Ton and Kverneland Group to release the patent, with the vision to let it become the Industry Standard and stimulate further ISOBUS developments. This enabled all agricultural businesses and manufacturers to work with this new standard for their products, which was a major step forward in making precision farming easy for the farmer. Ton was integral in the founding of AEF (Agriculture Industry Electronics Foundation), which has taken over the responsibilities of ISOBUS. Kverneland Group continued to expand the offering in smart and precision farming solutions, which Kverneland Group ‘’labeled’’ with the iM FARMING communication concept, explaining the product functionalities in an easy way.
Ton saw Kverneland Group Mechatronics grow from being with a few employees to the great company it is today with over 80 people. Responsible for producing top-class IsoMatch Tellus terminals, digital tools like IsoMatch FarmCentre, and precision farming licenses like IsoMatch GEOCONTROL. Around the office, he is known for his great smile and positive attitude, and as a man with an “open door” policy for everyone. He is seen as a visionary, where the sky is the limit which has been manifested by his incredible career.
After 43 years in the business, it is time for Ton to hand over the reins and his official last day at Kverneland Group Mechatronics was on the 1st of July. He will now spend his time together with his beloved wife on his hobbies and will still keep his connection with the agriculture business by trying out being a hobby wine farmer in Portugal.
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1 July 2022