HydroPoint Data Systems acquires smart irrigation provider Baseline

Because both companies are privately held, it’s impossible to say how much HydroPoint Data Systems is paying for smart irrigation provider Baseline Inc., but you can bet it’s a big deal. HydroPoint and Baseline each achieved record revenue in 2015 and both say they’re on track to post another record this year.

Based in Petaluma, California, HydroPoint Data Systems is the maker of WeatherTRAK smart irrigation technology. Baseline, which is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, is known for its patented soil moisture sensors and two-wire technologies, intelligent irrigation controllers, as well as central and remote-control platforms.

Interestingly, HydroPoint says Baseline will continue to operate as an independent company. According to a news release on the acquisition, HydroPoint will invest in both the Boise operations and the Baseline product line.

“Baseline’s extensive background in managing irrigation for the world’s most complex sites, combined with their widely recognized superior moisture sensors and two-wire technology, are an incredible addition to our platform,” said HydroPoint CEO Chris Spain.

In a prepared statement, Spain also noted that the Baseline management team’s expertise in design and specification sales will complement HydroPoint’s success in channel and enterprise sales.

Baseline technologies will bolster the HydroPoint Smart Water Management platform while expanding HydroPoint’s geographic footprint, the company said.

Meanwhile, Baseline’s chief executive, Joe Wallace, says the acquisition “truly shifts both organizations into a higher gear. The opportunity to share our respective technologies means all of our customers will continue to have the most advanced smart irrigation systems in the industry.”

In addition to landscape professionals, HydroPoint’s WeatherTRAK system is used by commercial clients such as Walmart, government customers that include Los Angeles County and numerous educational institutions.

HydroPoint says that in a single year its WeatherTRAK customers cut 15 billion gallons of water usage and $137 million in expenses, among other savings.