Constellation Brands Goes Green With Delivery Of First Monarch Electric Tractors

If Old McDonald had tractors like the Monarch MK-V on his farm he’d have a lot more time to e-i-e-i-o out of the hot sun and in the comfort of the barn or house. The Monarch MK-V tractor is driver-optional, autonomous, smart and powered by batteries.

The first production MK-V tractors rolled off the line Thursday at Monarch Tractor’s Livermore, Calif. headquarters and plant less than two years after launching pilot versions and into the hands of Constellation Brands, a leading global premium, fine wine and craft spirits producer and largest beer importer in the U.S.

Constellation is taking delivery on the first six Founder Series MK-V tractors, which Robert Hanson, Executive Vice President and President, Wine & Spirits Division, Constellation Brands declared to Forbes.com “will be fundamentally game changing.”

“We’re very committed to protecting, preserving and giving back to the environment. It’s an essential aspect of what we need to do to sustain our business going forward,” Hanson explained as the reasoning for the purchase of the emissions-free tractors.

As part of that commitment Constellation is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 15% over the next few years, according to Hanson.

Those first six Monarch tractors will go to work on the To Kalon Vineyard in California’s Napa Valley which Hanson characterized as the top vineyard in the U.S. and among the top five in the world, which, he emphasized, sends a strong message.

“To farm that vineyard with the Monarch tractors is demonstrating our leadership and commitment to changing the way we farm moving forward so it’s done in a way that’s better for our world,” Hanson said.

Indeed Constellation plans to eventually turn over its vast tractor fleet to what Hanson termed “the most sustainable fleet moving forward.” That could mean including tractors from other companies, Hanson said.

The delivery of MK-V tractors to Constellation Brands will be followed by additional customer shipments to family farms and other large multinational corporations according to Monarch.

In an interview with Forbes.com, Monarch co-founder and CEO Praveen Penmetsa explained how the MK-V solves a number of issues for farmers including cost-savings, emissions reduction and safety as compared with using diesel-powered tractors that also require a human driver on board.

“Each one of our tractors is roughly equal to 14 cars worth of emissions and the price of diesel is exorbitant,” said Penmetsa. “We can help save money from a diesel standpoint. Instead of spraying chemicals to kill grass, just mow. It’s going to reduce emissions, reduce the amount of chemicals all the while making more money for the farmers and keep their existing workforce more efficient and out of harm’s way.”

The MK-V’s driver-optional technology makes is possible for several tractors to be operated remotely by a single person and can perform pre-programmed tasks without a driver or an operator using Monarch’s interactive automation.

This feature helps address an acute shortage of tractor drivers and helps retain those already on the job who may be thinking of bolting for less-demanding and higher-paying careers.

“They’re happy they don’t have to sit on the tractor seat,” notes Penmetsa. “They can be off the seat, back in the barn, and operate like four tractors at a time. What this means is we’re going to start elevating them from tractor drivers to fleet managers, number two, we’re going to increase the probability these people stay in agriculture sector instead of leaving and finding a job in a warehouse or construction or some other professions.”

When it’s in “shadow mode” the MK-V can actually follow a worker to the job. It can also serve as an all-terrain vehicle and mobile power source.

The MK-V’s other “smart” features include collecting and analyzing crop data and through a smartphone or personal device users receive tractor status alerts, detailed operations reports, and data collection, analysis and storage.

The MK-V’s flexibility means it can be used on both crop and dairy farms but also at non-agricultural venues such as airports for luggage transport, municipalities or military bases for grass mowing, Penmetsa explained.

Indeed, orders are tumbling in from many difference sectors with current production sold out till the middle of next year according to Penmetsa who declined to give specific sales targets, but said he expected sales to “eventually” reach “thousands and tens of thousands.”

To meet that expected demand, Monarch recently signed a contract manufacturing agreement with Hon Hai Technology Group (“Foxconn”,) the world’s largest electronic manufacturer, to build the MK-V and its battery packs in 2023 at the Foxconn Mahoning Valley, Ohio facility, in Lordstown, a former General Motors plant.

“There are 600 spectacular manufacturing professionals all with the GM automotive background as well as all the capex GM had left behind for Lordstown Motors who left it behind for Foxconn,” said Mark Schwager, Monarch Tractor co-founder and President in an interview. “We were really looking for the right partner, mission-aligned partner, committed to making electric vehicles possible. They saw our vision..as well as having right elements in place.”

Schwager expected production in Lordstown to ramp up the early part of next year. While that plant will take on the major production load the Livermore facility will build the first 50 or 60 units of any new product as a means of evaluation before moving over to Ohio.

Monarch has clearly caught the attention of the investment community raising more than $110 million including a $61 million Series B round in 2021. In addition, as part of the NVIDIA Inception startup program, Monarch secured several strategic partnerships globally including CNH Industrial and V.S.T. Tillers.

On another front, Monarch and its Farm Electrification Consortium partners recently received a $3 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC).

The idea, explained Penmetsa, is to show how an electric tractor, such as the Monarch MK-V, can serve as a mobile energy source, especially when diesel fuel to operate generators is so expensive and the power grid is over-stressed.

“When you combine five of our tractors, you’re talking about close to a megawatt of energy on the farm,” said Penmetsa. “Some of our farmers have 200, 300 tractors. Imagine what this energy can do for all of us on the grid side of things without having to put new power plants on the infrastructure. It’s a game changer.”