Almost 50 delegates from more than 20 countries met in Holland for the week-long Cobb Europe Technical Seminar, which provided visits to farms and laboratories as well as specialist presentations.
“To bring together so many participants from such diverse countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and get such positive feedback as we’ve had is really a fantastic achievement,” said Tore Mercan, sales and technical director for Cobb Europe
“As well as providing technical and market knowledge from our Cobb experts to our customers, it was a great opportunity to share ideas and address specific issues in a friendly, relaxed environment. By the end of the week people had really gotten to know each other, with many connections made both professionally and socially.
“Every individual there had a real passion for the industry and motivation to learn, and I’m sure they all took away new ideas to implement in their own businesses to improve production efficiency. Ultimately, that’s what putting on an event like this is all about.”
The seminar in Zwolle included presentations on industry trends, broilers, breeders, poultry health and environment. There was a tour of the Aitink-Jansman family farm in the Hellendoorn area of eastern Holland, which recently won the new Cobb broiler breeder award. Delegates also visited Probroed & Sloot, the largest independent Dutch broiler hatchery for practical work on chick quality, and the Pluimveepraktijk Noord & Oost veterinary practice at Slagharen for post-mortem training.
“It was a fantastic week for me,” commented Florina Stratone, a veterinarian from Semar Trading in Romania. “People who presented these courses were so good, and my attention was drawn all the time because everything was so interactive! I've made friends from around the world. It was an honour to meet them and to discover at the end of the week that we are, indeed, part of a family - the Cobb family.”
Brendan Graaf, broiler adviser from Cobb South Africa, added: “There was a very welcoming family atmosphere provided by Cobb with the perfect balance of hard work and great fun. The presenters made everything practical and easy to understand. If you arrived with operational problems back home, they were solved by the end of the seminar. Once again Cobb showed why they are number one!”
