Global investment firm Carlyle has launched Farmfront Group, a new global platform of irrigation providers created following its 2022 acquisition of Ocmis Group (Ocmis) and the recent acquisitions of three European irrigation firms – Irrimec, Otech, and RKD.
Together, they will operate as Europe’s irrigation expert and a leading global platform of irrigation providers, with the scale and expertise to adapt to different farming realities. Backed by Carlyle, and led by CEO Daniel Neves, Farmfront’s ambition is to become the preeminent one stop shop across all irrigation technologies.
Headquartered in Milan, Farmfront, which will be led by CEO Daniel Neves, employs more than 450 people across six manufacturing sites in Italy, Spain, and France, with sales to over 100 countries across the globe. The Group’s combined turnover of more than €200 million in 2022 makes it the largest player in mechanical irrigation in Europe.
The Carlyle Europe Partners platform has invested alongside the founders of the Group companies and will support Farmfront by developing the platform’s commercial and marketing strategy, implementing operational best practice across the constituent businesses, and through further M&A.
Neves has 24-years of experience in agribusiness in Europe and the Americas, with eleven of those spent in dairy farming machinery and thirteen in irrigation.
