Brazil-based Solinftec plans to expand its operations to America, establishing a new U.S. headquarters in West Lafayette, Indiana. With this growth, the digital agriculture company plans to create up to 334 new, high-wage jobs by 2022.

Solinftec plans to invest $50.6 million to establish operations at the Purdue Research Park in Tippecanoe County, investing in software and computer hardware to expand the company's innovations to the U.S. and increase its tech-based offerings for U.S. customers in the agriculture industry.

The company offers an IoT-based farm management system enabled by a suite of technologies, including proprietary hardware, a telemetry communications network and a software as a service (SaaS) platform, to support the increased efficiency of agricultural operations like planting, harvesting and spraying. The technology digitizes all aspects of agriculture operations, monitoring all processes and providing real-time actionable insights that increase crop returns.

This new Indiana facility will enable the company to expand its solutions to new crops and accommodate increased demand in North America. To support planned growth, Solinftec will be hiring for positions in sales and IT, as well as data scientists, engineers and agronomists, beginning early 2019.

"The U.S. Midwest is core to our strategy; we recognize its importance in the global food and its ag ecosystem. We are humbled and thrilled to launch our U.S. headquarters out of the state of Indiana,” said Renato Hersz, Solinftec’s strategy and corporate development director. “We thank the state government, Agrinovus, Purdue University and Tom Farms for their vision on supporting this initiative and for its Hoosier hospitality.”

Subject to the review of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) Board of Directors, the IEDC will offer Tecsoil USA (dba Solinftec) up to $6 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. These incentives are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The city of West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County support the project at the request of Greater Lafayette Commerce.

“Indiana is at the center of innovation in agtech, and today’s news is yet another example of the collaborative ecosystem we’ve created here,” Governor Eric J. Holcomb said. “Solinftec choosing to locate its first U.S. operation and its U.S. headquarters in Tippecanoe County will not only create hundreds of high-skilled, high-wage jobs, but it will bolster an industry that is developing new solutions, improving agricultural products consumed around the world, and enabling farmers in Indiana and beyond to grow their operations.”