Recently, Ridder and Blue Radix hosted an exclusive breakfast seminar in the Mexican city of Querétaro, bringing together a select group of greenhouse growers and industry professionals to explore the power of autonomous technology in horticulture.
The morning was filled with insights on how AI is already helping Mexican growers tackle labor shortages, save resources such as water, energy, fertilizer and labor, while growing more consistently. With Ridder’s smart greenhouse solutions and Blue Radix’s autonomous Climate and Irrigation Control, attendees saw firsthand how innovation is driving real results.
The event opened with a welcome by Oscar Woltman, a respected leader in the horticultural sector. Oscar served as President of AMHPAC for two years and has over 15 years of experience as General Manager of two major greenhouse operations in Mexico. His deep understanding of the Mexican market and strategic vision for greenhouse development set the tone for the day.
Smart Agriculture by Ridder
Ruben Soto and Victor Rebolledo spoke on behalf of Ridder Mexico. Ridder is actively applying artificial intelligence, automation, and machine learning to make greenhouse operations smarter and more efficient. One clear example is the GROW robot, a tomato harvesting robot equipped with two robotic arms and advanced 3D AI vision. This system identifies, cuts, and stores tomatoes while continuously learning and improving their performance with every harvest.
Beyond robotics, Ridder is also integrating AI into climate control and water management. The company’s open platform connects greenhouse systems, sensors, and external partners like Blue Radix through cloud and API services. This allows data to flow freely and be used for better decision-making and optimization.
Ridder emphasizes the shift from automatic to autonomous systems, moving from simple automated actions to intelligent systems that can make their own decisions. Through collaboration with AI partners like Blue Radix, Ridder enables more accurate, data-driven climate control and operational management.
However, Ridder stresses that technology alone is not enough. Without clear processes, digital tools can create confusion instead of value. True innovation happens when technology is integrated into well-defined processes, improving efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness across greenhouse operations.
Autonomous Climate & Irrigation Control by Blue Radix
Followed by smart agriculture insights from Ridder. Ranier Sandoval, head of sales North America and Mexico spoke on behalf of Blue Radix, Ranier explained how autonomous growing is transforming greenhouse operations. He spoke about how Blue Radix’s AI-driven systems, Crop Controller, enables growers to manage the climate and irrigation with precision, reducing waste, diseases, and production costs.
This technology helps ensure consistent yields, supports sales targets, and lowers stress for growers and business owners alike. He stressed that Autonomous control isn’t a future concept, it’s already being implemented, empowering growers to work smarter and more sustainably.
Following Ranier’s talk, Manuel Valdes took the stage. Valdes is an Agronomist Engineer and entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in the agriculture sector, both in guiding others and leading projects across Mexico as well as abroad. In recent years he has specialized in applying artificial intelligence to climate control, irrigation, pest management, and operational planning. For this reason, he spoke more about the trends he observed in the Mexican market, noting a growing interest in digitalization among greenhouse growers.
Ridder and Blue Radix: Stronger Together
In today’s fast-changing horticultural landscape, strategic collaboration is key. Ridder and Blue Radix have joined forces to bring smarter growing solutions to growers in Mexico combining deep technical expertise with smart, data-driven solutions.
This partnership enables growers to better manage resources, reduce operational stress, and improve consistency in yield and quality. By aligning their strengths, Ridder and Blue Radix offer a powerful response to the challenges of modern greenhouse production.
Together, they’re not just offering technology, they’re empowering growers to take control of their future.
