A company that produces software and equipment to retrofit farm tractors to be autonomous is looking to expand in Central Iowa.

Sabanto Inc., which has its headquarters in Illinois, currently occupies about 5,000 square feet in the Iowa State University Research Park in Ames, and another approximately 5,000 square feet in Nevada, said Craig Rupp, the company’s CEO.

He said the company has seen “quite a bit of success” over the past year and “needs to scale our support and sales and marketing” to meet the growing demand.

The company, which has 40 employees, will add jobs, primarily in sales and marketing, as part of the expansion, he said.

“We went commercial last year and we’ve been continually adding people,” Rupp said.

Sabanto wants to consolidate its Ames and Nevada sites and add another 5,000 square feet, bringing to 15,000 square feet Rupp said the company needs to meet the increasing demand for its product.

Most of the software is developed in Illinois, while the hardware, tractor integration testing, and sales and support are based in Iowa, he said.

Sabanto works with Georgia-based Ag Technologies, which has dealers across the country and in Canada, to market its products.

It also has partnerships with various implement providers, including an Australian company that makes mowers for the sod industry, among others, Rupp said.

Rupp said the company is continuing its search for space to meet the growth it’s experienced over the past year.

That could include sites in Ames or other Story County communities, or in Boone, he said.

“We’re not landlocked, it does not have to be in Ames,” Rupp said.