Since 2007,HARDI has been owned by EXEL Industries, the largest specialised manufacturer of crop protection sprayers in the world. A recent decision by EXEL to adopt a proposal put by HARDI Australia will see a dramatic change to HARDI’s future manufacturing activities in South Australia. 

Up to this point, manufacturing has been limited mainly to HARDI’s market leading range of trailed sprayers and assembly of French manufactured self-propelled sprayer drive trains.  At a meeting in Paris in July, EXEL Industries agreed that over the next five years, HARDI Australia will move toward ground up design, development and manufacture of a specialist range of broadacre self-propelled sprayers at its CAVAN site in Adelaide. This step allows HARDI Australia to develop a Centre of Excellence here in Adelaide for the design and manufacture of cutting edge broadacre self-propelled crop protection sprayers, specifically for the Australian market. 

Ultimately, this move will mean more people employed by HARDI Australia as it continues to grow.  Engineers, electronic specialists, innovation and importantly, assembly and manufacturing personnel will swell HARDI’s current team of one hundred and thirty people.   

Another key element of the plan is that from 2024, HARDI will become Australian Distributor for EXEL owned brand APACHE, manufactured by ET Works in the USA. This move will provide HARDI with a competitively priced, mechanical drive sprayer with approximately 4,500 litre capacity. APACHE sprayers are renowned for their simplicity and reliability and have been sold in Australia for a number of years. 

HARDI is committed to global food security through the safe and sustainable application of agricultural compounds. We are especially proud of our contributions here in South Australia, where we've achieved remarkable milestones. HARDI’s GeoSelect® Selective Spraying Technology is receiving global acclaim as the next step to conventional camera sprayers. GeoSelect® was entirely developed in Adelaide and is now in the process of being commercialised globally. All Australians have a right to be proud that such cutting edge technology has been developed here in our state. 

GeoSelect was further highlighted in the documentary series "The AgTech Revolution," where our groundbreaking technology for precision farming, GeoSelect, took center stage. Developed by our innovation team in Australia and manufactured locally, this technology has already made waves through the ACM network and discussions are underway for broader TV network coverage.

Our flagship creation, the Rubicon, stands as the nation's largest self-propelled sprayer. When originally released, Rubicon earned the prestigious New Release Award at the Yorke Peninsula Field Days in 2017. Last year marked the launch of the Saritor Mallee 7000, a locally inspired update to our self-propelled sprayer range. Distinguished by the revolutionary HIVE (HARDI Integrated Vehicle Experience) console system, it offers seamless and intuitive operation.