Grupo HAME, one of Guatemala’s top three fresh fruit growers, and Pyka, a California-based manufacturer of autonomous electric aircraft for crop spray and cargo transport, have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for testing and a potential operational leasing arrangement. The arrangement confirms Pyka’s position as the market leader in large-scale autonomous electric aviation technology for agriculture and ensures another significant client for the Pelican Spray aircraft.
Grupo HAME plans to extend operations with numerous Pelican Spray planes over all of its banana-producing zones after completing a pilot program that included performance and efficacy tests. Volker Fabian, Chief Commercial Officer of Pyka, expressed optimism that Grupo HAME’s usage of Pelican Spray on their fresh fruit harvests will boost their business’s cost-effectiveness while advancing their aim to deploy cutting-edge technology to optimize its environmental sustainability. Grupo HAME’s Chief of Banana Development, Enrique Pallais, stressed the company’s dedication to adopting the most cutting-edge agricultural technology available so that their operations are at the forefront of operational effectiveness and environmental sustainability.
For flying operations in five different nations, including experimental flights in the United States and night operations in Costa Rica, Pyka has obtained regulatory authorization. The Pelican Spray’s utterly autonomous flight control platform has been demonstrated to maximize spray precision. In addition, it is intended to drastically minimize operational expenses for clients by using up to 15% fewer chemicals.
The signing of the LOI with Grupo HAME represents a big step forward for Pyka. It increases its market share in the expanding Latin American region and strengthens its position as the industry pioneer in autonomous electric aircraft for agricultural use. Furthermore, Pyka is in an excellent position to change the way fresh fruit harvests are produced and collected, making it more effective, affordable, and ecologically sustainable thanks to the success of its Pelican Spray aircraft.
Image provided by Pyka
