Aeros

Background

Aeros, formerly operating as AgriSoft Solutions LLC, is an ERP and animal inventory management software provider for the poultry industry. Its suite of product solutions include flock management, feed management, egg processing, table egg distribution, and animal inventory management solutions.

In 2005, the business was purchased by Agri Stats Incorporated, an agriculture benchmarking and management reporting company, with the intent to break into the Ag Software space. However, in 2013, Agri Stats decided to divest its interest in Aeros in order to refocus their energies and talents on their core business.

Aeros is still managed autonomously. My staff and I are still the decision-makers but now we have the resources of a larger software company.

— Anthony Barton,General Manager, Cultura - Aeros

The Decision to Sell

Cultura Technologies, the North American market leader in agri-food software, acquired Aeros in June 2013. Cultura’s acquisition philosophy is to invest in good software businesses and help them become great.

The management team at Agri Stats was impressed with Cultura’s knowledge of the agriculture software space, and thus believed that it would be an appropriate long-term home for Aeros. The existing team at Aeros was particularly enthusiastic about joining Cultura because of its decentralized approach to operating its businesses. Finding a Long-Term Home In addition, Cultura understands that the best people to run its companies are the ones that helped build them, and encourages existing managers to stay on post-acquisition to continue making strategic and operational decisions as they see fit.

The education that Cultura has been able to provide cannot be underestimated. We had no insight into whether our activities and results were aligned with the rest of the industry, but now we have these metrics to help guide us.

— Anthony Barton,General Manager, Cultura - Aeros

Post-Acquisition Success

Since the acquisition, Aeros has been able to improve financial performance and discipline throughout the organization. The team at Cultura has worked with general manager Anthony Barton and his staff to apply relevant benchmarks and metrics to evaluate and improve operational efficiencies based on its parent company’s experiences, having completed hundreds of acquisitions to date.

Moreover, Cultura has been able to share numerous best practices specific to the management of Ag Software businesses. For instance, Cultura’s leadership has worked with Barton’s team to improve sales processes. This has increased revenues for the business while shortening the time to deliver value for clients. Cultura has also reconfigured Aeros’ approach to research and development by introducing the company to more customer-focused approaches to product innovation and management.

Similarly, Aeros has benefited from the vast network and knowledge sharing opportunities made available by Cultura and its parent organization, Volaris Group. Aeros employees now attend departmental summits and leadership academies focused on how to best manage software businesses, empowering them with better training and career development opportunities. 

In the end, finding a permanent home for Aeros under Cultura Technologies was the best thing for its employees and customers. Cultura has been able to maintain Aeros’ strategic direction and customer focus, while providing greater growth opportunities. Equipped with better practices and processes, Aeros is well positioned for continued future growth under Cultura’s guidance.