Trimble Acquires IRON Solutions, Inc. to Broaden its Connected Farm Solution for Growers, Ag Dealers and Agronomists

IRON Solutions Broadens the Connected Farm User Community through Market Neutral Information and Analytics

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Dec 23, 2014, 06:30 ET

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) announced today that it has acquired privately-held IRON Solutions, Inc. of Franklin, Tenn.

IRON Solutions provides market information, analytics-based intelligence and a cloud-based enterprise system to improve dealer and producer productivity. Coupled with Trimble's Connected Farm™ solution, IRON Solutions will enable improved real-time decisions for equipment fleets and more tightly link equipment, seed and chemical dealers to the grower through its ERP/CRM systems. Farmers, their equipment dealers and their agronomy advisors will now have one Connected Farm platform for collaboration on key investment and prescription decisions. IRON Solutions manages over 15 million data points annually from over 1,200 manufacturers and over 2,200 retail sources throughout North America.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Iron Solutions product portfolio includes:

Equipment purchase optimization through IRON Guides, which tracks prices of actual equipment sales transactions including specifications, options and adjustments for condition and hours of use; IRON Builder, which provides accurate and efficient pricing specifications that enable original equipment manufacturers to better manage product configuration and promotion for their dealers; and IRON Vector, advanced analytics for benchmarking and forecasting equipment values across a wide variety of specifications and economic conditions
Dealership operation optimization through IRON HQ, a cloud-based enterprise system for equipment dealers; and Precision HQ, a cloud-based enterprise system for agriculture technology dealers
Equipment resale optimization through IRON Search, a leading equipment sales networked-marketplace for growers and equipment dealerships, which draws over five million visitors each year

For the Grower

IRON Search is a leading online marketplace and trusted source for new and used agricultural, industrial and outdoor power equipment. With it growers can locate, evaluate and buy equipment online. Growers can also list their equipment for sale for potential buyers to review within minutes. Using IRON Search in combination with the Connected Farm Field application, growers will be able to make more informed purchasing decisions, efficiently plan equipment turns and manage the fleet to the unique agronomic requirements of each farming operation.

For the Equipment and Ag Technology Dealer

IRON Solutions is the publisher of the Official Guide of farm equipment, which is used widely across the industry as the trusted used equipment valuation guide for tractors, combines and now over 4,000 makes and models of equipment annually. IRON's suite of integrated market intelligence and enterprise systems enable sales, parts, service, finance and operations teams to collaborate and engage the grower in one mobile, cloud-based system.

By utilizing IRON Solutions services with Connected Farm's fleet productivity and utilization applications dealers will be able to provide capabilities to the grower such as diagnostics in order to efficiently schedule machinery maintenance or optimizing the timing of the sale of equipment based on usage and market conditions.

For the Agronomic Advisor

IRON solutions and Connected Farm together provide seed, fertilizer, and chemical resellers a cloud-based ERP/CRM platform. This open flexible platform enables their agronomists and crop advisors to track and manage their customers' needs through varying farming prescriptions and growing cycle conditions. The platform also provides agronomists and crop advisors with access to a variety of tools such as the Connected Farm's Soil Information System™ solution, PurePixel™ Precision Vegetation Health solution and RainWave® Contour Map.

"With the acquisition of IRON Solutions, Trimble is empowering our dealers with trusted technologies that employ best-in-class information, next generation enterprise services and market analytics," said Joe Denniston, vice president of Trimble's Agriculture Division. "The IRON Solutions information together with Connected Farm will provide growers with a critical element in understanding their equipment lifecycle, enabling them to more efficiently manage their fleets."

"We are excited to be joining Trimble at a time of increased collaboration between farmers, retailers and agronomists," said Darwin Melnyk, CEO of IRON Solutions. "Our farm equipment, dealer and industry domain knowledge, independence and trust combined with Trimble's leadership in agricultural technology can enable a farmer and their service provider to better drive efficiencies. In addition, by leveraging Trimble's global presence we will work to extend the reach of our HQ product lines."

About IRON Solutions

IRON Solutions provides market intelligence and a suite of integrated, cloud-based enterprise services that drive efficiency to increase returns on investment for agricultural retailers, growers and agronomic advisors. IRON Solutions is a leading supplier of agricultural and construction equipment valuation and financial risk management information through half a century of providing this information via its IRON Guides and IRONSearch.com services. IRON's services include IRON HQ®, IRON Builder®, IRON Guides®, IRON Vector®, and IRON Search®, a marketplace for buyers and sellers of agricultural and construction equipment. Headquartered in the U.S. with offices in Canada, IRON Solutions provides services to manufacturers and their finance companies, dealer networks, insurance, finance and government customers. The IRON Solutions headquarters is located at 660 Bakers Bridge Avenue, Suite 200, Franklin, TN 37067-6567.

For more information, visit: www.ironsolutions.com.

About Trimble's Agriculture Division

Trimble Agriculture solutions enable customers to maximize efficiency and reduce chemical and fertilizer inputs while also protecting natural resources and the environment. Trimble's precision agriculture solutions cover all seasons, crops, terrains, and farm sizes, and its brand-agnostic strategy allows farmers to use Trimble products on most vehicles in their fleet—regardless of manufacturer. To enable better decision making, Trimble offers the Connected Farm solution which allows farmers to collect, share, and manage information across their farm in real time. To optimize water use, Trimble provides water solutions for irrigation, drainage, and land leveling. Trimble's product suite includes vehicle and implement guidance and steering, as well as a portfolio of correction options that are the most versatile of their kind in the industry. Additional solutions include an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for aerial imaging and mapping; application control for seed, liquid, and granular products; a harvest solution; and farm management software.

For more information on Trimble Agriculture, visit: www.trimble.com/agriculture.

About Trimble

Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.

For more information, visit: www.trimble.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the business operations and prospects of Trimble, including the impact of the IRON Solutions acquisition on broadening Trimble's Connected Farm Solution. These forward-looking statements are subject to change, and actual results may materially differ due to certain risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause or contribute to changes in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (i) realizing the anticipated benefits of the acquisition, (ii) Trimble's ability to integrate IRON Solutions' portfolio of products and services into Trimble's Connected Farm and deliver compelling solutions that will benefit, and be adopted by, growers, agricultural dealers and agronomic advisors, (iii) Trimble's ability to expand IRON Solutions' product lines and grow by leveraging Trimble's global presence, and (iv) the risks and uncertainties associated with unexpected expenditures or assumed liabilities that may be incurred as a result of the acquisition. More information about potential factors which could affect Trimble's business and financial results is set forth in reports filed with the SEC, including Trimble's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and its annual report on Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Trimble as of the date hereof, and Trimble assumes no obligation to update such statements.