By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill
Creating an ecosystem to support a flourishing drone manufacturing base to meet the future needs of U.S. industrial customers is going to take several years and involve a partnership between AUV producers and the federal government.
A Houston-based producer of agricultural spray drones is doing its part to facilitate that future, by opening a full-scale drone manufacturing plant in Lafayette, Louisiana. The facility, which is expected to be fully operational in the first quarter of next year, is expected to produce from 500 to 1,000 of the company’s flagship product, the Field Ranger X50 agricultural spray drone, in 2026, company officials said in an interview with DroneLife.
“Our focus right now is bringing precision drone manufacturing to Lafayette,” said DMR’s Chief Talent Officer Brennan Castillo. “We’re really looking to become an American made-drone manufacturing hub and to really focus on the made-in-Louisiana aspect of it.”
In addition to fully assembled drones, the manufacturing plant, which will be located in a building that also houses the Drone Institute, will also produce rotors and use SMT [Surface Mount Technology] printing to produce chips used in UAVs.
The new facility is expected to bring in more than 500 direct jobs — with an average annual salary of $85,000 — along with more than 700 indirect jobs throughout the Lafayette region over the next decade.
Castillo praised the synergies created by co-locating the manufacturing plant in the same facility that houses the Drone Institute. “Our facility’s neat because it’s becoming a hub of activity in this area,” he said. “We walk down the hall and there are the leaders in the drone industry. There are a lot of people who are pioneering, whether it’s great technology or in great manufacturing.”
David Wang, the company’s cofounder and CEO, said he hopes the establishment of the manufacturing plant will be part of a larger trend to reshore drone manufacturing jobs.
“The ultimate goal is really to bring drone manufacturing back into the United States and to be able to produce drones and build out the entire supply chain in the US, starting in Louisiana,” he said.
Pursuing Different Marketing Strategy
While China-based DJI is one of the top marketers of agricultural spray drones in the U.S., DMR officials think there’s a lot of room for an American drone company such as theirs to capture a large share of the market in the U.S.
“The biggest thing about DJI, as everybody knows: they’re able to produce drones at a very low price and squeeze every other competitor out in the marketplace. Our experience is — because we have the supply chain and experience behind us — we are able to produce at a much more competitive price, on par with what DJI is offering,” Wang said.
He said all ag drone manufacturers utilize similar technologies, with no single player holding a technological edge. Therefore, with a relatively small number of competitors, manufacturers such as DMR must rely on marketing strategies to differentiate themselves.
“Ultimately, because we are doing spray drones, our focus is our end-user,” Wang said. “It’s about a return on investment for what they purchase is commercial equipment, not a photography drone, but more of a tool to generate revenue.”
Castillo said customer service is one area in which a home-grown company such as DMR can gain an advantage over foreign-based competitors.
He commented that once a product leaves DMR’s Louisiana facility, that’s just the beginning of the company’s relationship with its customers, particularly those who are unfamiliar with the use of UAVs.
“A lot of times we’re introducing drone technology to a group that’s never used it before. They’re interested in it; they see the need for it. They understand that it’s safer, that it allows them to be much more precise in their sprayings, and it’s better for the environment,” he said.
“What we’re seeing with some of our early adopters is that there are a lot of small questions and a lot of help that they need during that transition process,” he added. “And having that localized Louisiana-based service model is a lot different than a call center overseas.”
DMR has also worked closely with state and local economic development officials to help ensure the success of its new facility by having it serve the needs of the surrounding community. In particular, the company has partnered with (LED) FastStart, a program of Louisiana Economic Development, which has assisted DMR in the hiring of military veterans and in the expansion of its sales and support team.
“Right now, the focus is on bringing high-paying jobs with long-term opportunity into a company that has meteoric growth potential, but also has that feel of a Down-South Louisiana culture, family-type business in it,” Castillo said.
Supply Chain Development
Although initially DMR plans to build its drones using some foreign-made components that are difficult to source domestically, ultimately the company hopes to be able to use more components that are made in the U.S.
Ryan Case, DMR’s cofounder and CFO, said for that to happen, the federal government is going to have to adopt policies that encourage U.S. production of critical components needed for drone manufacturers.
“They’re going to have to, over the next couple of years, build out better domestic supply chains, whether it’s on the rare earths, or whether it’s on the batteries or things like that,” he said. With its teams of experts in the areas of logistics and distribution, DMR is well positioned to work with the government to help develop such policies, Case said.
“It’s not just flipping the switch and everything can automatically be accessed in the United States. There does need to be a national awareness of building up the supply chains,” he said.
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Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they’re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
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