AGCO has signed a commercial agreement with Agility Robotics to introduce Digit humanoid robots at its manufacturing facility in Hesston, Kansas, with a pilot expected to begin in 2027. The agricultural machinery manufacturer plans to test the robots on parts sorting and stacking, along with placing totes into storage, concentrating on repetitive material-handling work within its existing production operations.
The agreement, announced October 20, adds another industrial customer to Agility’s growing list of manufacturing and logistics partners. AGCO makes agricultural equipment through brands including Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra, and its Hesston operation will provide an opportunity to evaluate how a humanoid can handle tasks around machinery assembly without requiring a factory designed specifically for robots. AGCO’s manufacturing technology director, Thomas Enghof, said the company wants to use automation to reduce strenuous and potentially hazardous work while retaining human oversight and established safety practices.
Digit is designed for material handling in workplaces built around human movement. Agility already has commercial relationships with GXO, Toyota and Schaeffler, and has reported more than 65,000 hours of real-world operation across its earlier robot deployments. Its cloud-based Agility Arc platform manages robot fleets and their work assignments, although the companies have not specified how many Digit units AGCO intends to test or whether the Kansas pilot will use the newly introduced Digit 5.
The new agreement arrives as Agility prepares for a proposed public listing through a merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI. Its next-generation Digit 5, unveiled in September, is designed to carry heavier loads and operate in closer proximity to workers, with early customer access expected in the first half of 2027. AGCO and Agility have not disclosed the commercial value of their agreement, the duration of the pilot or any commitment to a wider rollout after testing.
Source: Agility Robotics and AGCO joint announcement, October 20, 2026: https://www.agilityrobotics.com/content/agco-and-agility-robotics-advance-smart-manufacturing-with-humanoid-robot-pilot-in-hesston-kansas-facility
