Ashtech Acquires Springhill Engineering, Inc.; New Division Brings Advanced Technology to Agricultural Navigation.SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 1995--Ashtech, Inc., the leader in precision solutions for global positioning, has acquired Springhill Engineering, Inc., a Montana-based company that develops farm-management tools for site-specific agriculture using differential GPS See GPS augmentation system. . "Precision farming is the future of commercial agriculture," said President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Ashtech, Chuck Boesenberg. "Springhill is an integral element of Ashtech's mission to innovate and develop application-specific precision solutions." The Springhill Engineering system, the Ag Navigator(TM), is a precision farming tool that integrates grain yield monitoring, differential GPS navigation and guidance, soil mapping, variable rate application and Geographic Information Systems geographic information system (GIS) Computerized system that relates and displays data collected from a geographic entity in the form of a map. The ability of GIS to overlay existing data with new information and display it in colour on a computer screen is used primarily to (GIS) into an agricultural information management system. Precision farming holds great promise as an emerging technology with potentially dramatic ecological and economic benefits. The combined effects of optimizing yield and crop quality provide obvious economic results. The less obvious ecological benefits may be the more exciting. Efficient weed mapping and spot application of herbicides (as opposed to blanket application) will potentially reduce the rate at which herbicide herbicide (hr`bəsīd'), chemical compound that kills plants or inhibits their normal growth. A herbicide in a particular formulation and application can be described as selective or nonselective. resistant organisms are developing in agroecosystems. Site specific applications of fertilizers could reduce the migration of excess chemicals to surface and groundwater via runoff and infiltration. Investigation of the long-term benefits is only beginning. Founders of Springhill, David Tyler
David Tyler (born October 25, 1965) is a Canadian radio personality and voice over artist. and Doug Roberts, developed the concepts behind the product through years of academic research and collaboration with the agricultural community. Tyler has been working on site-specific agricultural research funded by the USDA USDA, n.pr See United States Department of Agriculture. through Montana State University Montana State University, at Bozeman; land-grant; coeducational; chartered 1893. It is primarily a technical institution specializing in agriculture, engineering, and applied sciences. The Museum of the Rockies is there. since 1987. Roberts has been working on GPS mapping and guidance applied to site-specific agriculture for the past two years at the University of Calgary, funded by Alberta Agriculture. Springhill, is now the Agricultural Navigation Division of Ashtech, was founded in July 1994 and is located in Belgrade, Montana Belgrade is a city in Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,728 at the 2000 census. It was named in honor of Thomas B. Quaw, a capitalist from Belgrade, Serbia who founded the town in 1882. Gallatin Field Airport is located within the city boundaries. . Ashtech, Inc., a telecommunications company See telecom company. , is the leading provider of precision solutions for global positioning. Incorporated in 1987, Ashtech manufactures and markets Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receiver systems and related subsystems. The company currently manufactures systems which utilize Navstar satellites to determine position and time for users worldwide. Ashtech is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. and maintains a European sales office in Oxford, England, as well as research and development facilities in Moscow. More than 60 international and domestic dealers represent Ashtech products worldwide. Ashtech's main number is 408/524-1400. CONTACT: Ashtech, Inc., Sunnyvale Sally Kenvin, 408/524-1460 sally@ashtech.com or Wilson McHenry Company Marla Kertzman, 415/638-3400 marla@wmc.com |
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