European Drones Ready to conquer the skies of Africa and America

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European Drones Ready to conquer the skies of Africa and America

Please enjoy this short summary of Forbes’ article about us, originally published in Hungarian. Click here to see the original article.

Summary

ABZ Innovation, a European company, is making waves in the drone industry.
Even though giants from the USA and China dominate the market, ABZ Innovation shows that European firms can compete and excel worldwide.

They realized that existing agricultural drones weren’t meeting farmers’ performance and ease of use needs. So, in 2021, they partnered with the University of Győr and MIB Invest Group to create better drones. Their focus is on agricultural drones that are accurate, easy to operate, and can carry heavy loads for tasks like spraying crops.

They offer ready-made and custom drones, all developed and built in Europe. By working closely with experts and students, they drive innovation and ensure high quality. ABZ Innovation is far from just rebranding foreign products, as they assemble everything in their facility.

Being a smaller company allows them to respond quickly to customers and market changes. They provide excellent support, including fast service and training—crucial for farmers who can’t afford delays. They also offer highly customizable solutions that bigger companies usually cannot provide.

Their drones are competitively priced, and you can learn to use them in about two weeks, with full support provided. Committed to positive uses, they focus on improving agriculture and saving lives, avoiding military and hobby drones.

Already in 15 countries, now including Kenya, they’re planning to enter the U.S. market. ABZ Innovation proves European innovation can lead the drone industry, offering better solutions and outstanding support worldwide.

ABZ Innovation designs and manufactures drones in Hungary, aiming to become a worthy competitor to the largest global companies with its professional equipment.

The drone industry, dominated by American, Russian, Iranian, Turkish, and Chinese players, does not appear to be a field where a Hungarian participant could have a fair chance. However, the example of ABZ Innovation, based in Szentendre, demonstrates that this preconceived notion is incorrect.

The young company is already present in nearly 15 countries with its own drones and has even begun its expansion into Africa, revealed Károly Ludvigh, the company’s managing director.

Taking Off

In the agricultural drone segment, employees of ABZ Drone, which has long provided complex services alongside sales, logistics, and training, have realized over a few seasons that there simply is no perfect product in this sector.

Károly Ludvigh, CEO of ABZ Innovation.

They recognized a significant market gap here that can be filled with tools with appropriate performance, accuracy, manageability, solid support, and above-average flexibility.

The feedback was positive, and as a result, in 2021, the ABZ Drone subsidiary, ABZ Innovation, was established in collaboration with Széchenyi István University in Győr and the investor group MIB Invest Group (the company is backed by successful entrepreneur István Szekeres, who exited Agrofeed in 2019).

The company was specifically established to develop and manufacture drones based on its own concepts.

Products: agriculture in focus

ABZ Innovation primarily focuses on agricultural drones intended for professional users, specifically on the so-called spraying drones. These models are programmable, precise, equipped with various sensors, and have exceptionally high payload capacities, which is necessary since they need to carry chemicals or granules.

ABZ Innovation specializes in agricultural, industrial, and multifunctional drones.

They currently offer eight boxed models, which are available for purchase out of the box and differ in varying degrees from one another. In addition to agricultural equipment, there are models suitable for performing logistic tasks.

In addition, the company is prepared to complete custom orders.

For example, they crafted a drone that carried a large, heavy, and perfectly balanced camera, producing extremely high image quality. One of ABZ Innovation’s drones has also been tasked with holding a lamp simulating the Moon during a film shoot or flying a large air pollution measuring instrument back and forth.

Development and manufacturing in Hungary

The development of the products takes place in Hungary. The engineering team at ABZ Innovation collaborates closely with the University of Győr. The institution’s staff and students also actively participate in the work and provide enormous assistance in solving various problems during the testing phase.

Some of the components are also manufactured in Hungary.

This is also very beneficial for them since they are gaining experience in a field that is on the rise, backed by significant capital, which can provide a perspective in the competitive market. According to the Markets&Markets analysis firm, the agricultural drone market could grow by a third by 2028 from its current level, reaching $17.9 billion. The driving force behind this growth is Europe and North America, but the Asian market could also see massive growth in the coming years.

ABZ not only develops but also keeps assembly at home; everything takes place at the company’s plant in Szentendre.

Moreover, some of the components are sourced domestically. It is far from the case that they are merely rebranding Chinese drones.

Is there a chance against the powerful competitors?

It is only natural for everyone to wonder how much chance a Hungarian company has against well-supported Chinese competitors, who have access to unimaginable amounts of money to invest in development and production and who have long been present in global markets with their products. They are giants, while ABZ Innovation is small in comparison. However, this may precisely be the advantage.

A considerably less hierarchical and bureaucratic, smaller company specializing in one or two product groups can react much faster and more flexibly to market fluctuations and changes in consumer habits.

Among other reasons, this is why the company was able to achieve success quickly in Europe. The old continent’s agriculture is different from that of East Asia or North America. The plants vary, the economies function differently, and consequently, consumer demands are not the same. For example, Chinese companies do not pay much attention to this during their development and do not have many opportunities to do so.

There is an increasing demand for agricultural drones.

In addition, ABZ Innovation, continuing the traditions of ABZ Drone, places great emphasis on support. This includes rapid service, the provision of replacement devices, and training and advanced education for customers. These additional services are significant for devices costing several million forints, which are crucial for carrying out work.

In agriculture, one cannot wait weeks for repairs; there is no time for a person to learn how to operate a drone for months leisurely.

Speed and efficiency go hand in hand in this segment as well, and to achieve this, the Hungarian company strives to provide all necessary assistance.

Special demands have to be met.

We wouldn’t say that they have outpaced the tools of their major competitors at a technological level just yet. However, we can say that they are approximately at the same point on the evolutionary scale, which is quite significant.

Price

The cheapest of the products that can be purchased in a box, i.e., based on pre-specified factory specifications, costs 7,500 euros, i.e., about HUF 3 million. And the most expensive is 12,900 euros. Of course, in the case of individually designed models, it is possible to deviate from these amounts both downward and upward.

How long does it take to learn to fly a drone?

It takes approximately two weeks to learn to operate ABZ drones, and within a month, anyone can train to become a professional. The company also provides all the assistance needed for this.

Controls can now be learned quickly.

Additionally, the company’s staff are always available to customers to provide assistance. This is also a type of support that leading brands may not currently offer anyone in Hungary, as this market is simply too small for them.

Military drone? Hobby drone?

The Ukrainian conflict has proven that military drones play a more critical role than ever before. This will increasingly be the case in the future. Exploring this direction would make sense for a company active in the drone field.

The company's philosophy is that they do not manufacture any products suitable for destruction or devastation.

As Károly Ludvigh stated, they focus on developments that can assist the Armed Forces’ work and potentially save lives. For instance, measuring radiation levels, delivering aid shipments, and meeting similar specific needs are also possible. The company does not plan to venture into the hobby drone market. This is completely understandable, as it is a very different arena with entirely different consumer demands and possibilities.

Foreign expansion

From the very beginning, ABZ Innovation has been thinking about international expansion. It has been a significant help that the parent company, ABZ Drone, has established excellent business relationships in numerous countries over the years.

The goal is international expansion.

The company has a presence in about 15 countries through its own representation and distribution partners, and this is just the beginning.

Hungarian drones have also appeared on the African continent, thanks to the opening of the Kenyan office.

Károly Ludvigh and his team also set the goal of establishing a presence in the United States. If anything, the conquest of North America is indeed a challenge, but this market is one of the driving forces behind agricultural drones. A significant challenge could also bring substantial business opportunities.

Source of the original article: https://forbes.hu/uzlet/abz-innovation-dron-agrar-repulo/