IN THE NEWS: Poultry International June 2008

EuroTier 2008: return of World Poultry Show

EuroTier 2008 will see the return of the World Poultry Show, a special event catering for this global industry and its suppliers. This completes comprehensive cover of all main animal production sectors at the show with a huge variety of communication opportunities for reaching target audiences not just in Germany and eastern Europe but all over the world.

Almost 200 companies and organisations from all over the world, including market leaders in the fields of breeding, husbandry and processing, have already booked stands. The contingent of foreign exhibitors has been particularly strong, making the event the highlight for the international poultry sector this year, say show organisers, DLG. Visitors from the poultry sector will enjoy strong synergies provided by the cross-species exhibition segments at EuroTier, for instance feeding and feed storage, animal health or housing climate control.

EuroTier 2008 will take place in Hanover, Germany on 11–14 November. Full details are available at www.eurotier.de .

News from DSM Nutritional Products

DSM/Novozymes alliance renewed  DSM Nutritional Products and Novozymes have re-stated their commitment to the feed market by renewing their strategic alliance agreement. With the renewal of the agreement, the two companies commit to further strengthening and developing their partnership. The agreement runs for the next five years.

The alliance has been highly successful since its beginning in 2001 and the partners look to launch a number of innovative, market-expanding and promising products over the coming years.

Leendert Staal, president of DSM Nutritional Products, commented, “We are very pleased to reaffirm our commitment to the feed enzymes alliance with Novozymes. Over the years, the alliance has been a driving force in innovation and expansion of the global markets for animal feed enzymes.”

“The alliance of DSM and Novozymes combines world leading competencies and technologies of the two companies to deliver feed enzyme innovation to the customers. Within the next two years, we expect to launch a new enzyme for maize-soy diets,” said Novozymes’ executive vice president, Peder Holk Nielsen, who heads the company’s enzymes business.

DSM’s European technical meeting:  DSM Nutritional Products recently held a series of Poultry technical meetings in Coventry (UK), Arnhem (the Netherlands) and Madrid (Spain). Under the title ‘Feeding the genetics: a matter of quality’, the seminar addressed a range of topics, including how genetics, management and nutrition can improve quality and performance. The meetings attracted a total of 200 participants from 15 countries.

Keynote speaker was Professor Z. Uni from the Hebrew University in Israel, who explained her latest studies on the importance of nutrient transfer from breeders to chicks and on the chicks’ optimal nutrition.

2007 a successful year for Zagro

Zagro Asia Ltd has announced revenue growth of 13% for the last financial year to S$109.7 million (US$81.2 million).

Mr Poh Beng Swee, chairman and chief executive officer of Zagro Asia commented, “We continue to benefit from the buoyant agri-sector that has enjoyed healthy prices doe suppliers across the entire value chain. Both our crop care and animal health business segments saw healthy revenue growth in line with this upward trend, particularly towards the end of the year.”

Going forward, the company expects to build on its current performance by expanding distribution channels across 70 countries and expanding its product range, as well as pursing acquisitions.

News from Aviagen

Company re-structuring:  Aviagen Group has split into two separate business units: ‘Aviagen Broiler Breeding’ and ‘Aviagen Turkeys and other Aviagen Operations’. The move was prompted by the growth of the business and the need to ensure that resources remain focused on the core operations and their customers.

Under the new structure, Randall Ennis takes on the role of chief executive officer of Aviagen Broiler Breeding. He will be responsible for all chicken breeding and distribution operations. Chris Hill becomes chief executive officer of Aviagen Turkeys and other Aviagen Operations. CWT will continue to fall under the responsibility of Chris Hill. Alfons Koerhuis has accepted a new position as chief technical officer for both business units.

A holding company – Aviagen Group Holding Inc. – has been formed to co-ordinate the business units and drive further strategic growth across the Group. Ian Panton, long term CEO of the Aviagen Group, is appointed chairman of the newly formed holding entity. Chris Hill will fulfil the role of chief financial officer of Aviagen Group Holding Inc., in addition to his other new responsibilities. Randall Ennis, Chris Hill and Alfons Koerhuis have been appointed to the holding company board.

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Randall Ennis – Chris Hill – Alfons Koerhuis

Formation of Aviagen Turkeys:  Aviagen Group has announced that its turkey breeding companies – Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms (Nicholas) and British United Turkeys (BUT) – will operate as one company, Aviagen Turkeys. Nicholas and BUT had been operating separately since the latter’s acquisition by Aviagen in 2005. According to the company, the new structure will eliminate duplication of effort and allow more resources to be focused on supporting customers.

The two new operations are Aviagen Turkeys Inc. (based in Lewisburg, West Virginia, USA and headed up by Jihad Douglas) and Aviagen Turkeys Ltd (based near Chester in the United Kingdom under Martin Shea).

Aviagen Turkeys Ltd will support the BUT and Nicholas brands for all customers in Europe, while Aviagen Turkeys Inc. will support customers outside Europe, including Middle East, Africa, Australia and Asia.

Investment in Hungary: Part of the Aviagen Group, Aviagen Kft, has recently celebrated the opening of its latest grandparent (GP) farm, Ásványráró, situated in north-west Hungary. Over 120 of the company’s customers in Hungary and surrounding countries, as well as local and regional dignitaries gathered at the farm prior to the first placement of chicks, which took place at the end of March.

This new farm opening is only part of Aviagen’s programme of ongoing investment in facilities in Hungary. Capacity at its hatchery has been increased to meet the significant rise in demand. A complete refurbishment of a GP rearing farm was finished late last year and further GP contract farms are scheduled to be completed this year.

Management course in China: Aviagen has recently completed a week-long poultry management course in Beijing. The school brought participants from all across China together to learn the latest information in all areas of poultry science and its practical application to managing successful breeder and broiler operations. Fifty attendees from nine different poultry companies learned from Aviagen professionals and industry experts through a series of presentations and open discussions.

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Participants at Aviagen’s Chinese management course

Lohmann TZ vaccine factory takes shape

Lohmann Tierzucht has invested about €3.4 million in its new vaccine factory in Cuxhaven, Germany.

“This new construction paves the way for yet another milestone for Lohmann’s production and research team in Cuxhaven,“ enthused Professor Rudolf Preisinger, managing director for the division of genetics, production and research at Lohmann Tierzucht.

On completion, an effective area of about 745m² will be used to produce vaccines for specified flocks so as to maintain the healthy status of poultry and other species worldwide. MUMS-vaccines will also be produced here: these are the accredited vaccines used for Minor-Use / Minor-Species, i.e. vaccines which are used for rare diseases and/or for small numbers of individuals to be vaccinated. Weekly production is expected to be about 1000 litres of antigens and about 3200 litres of vaccines. Operation is due to commence at the end of September 2008.

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Official hand-over of the structural works from the building authorities to Lohmann Tierzucht. Pictured are (left to right): Professor Rudolf Preisinger, Arno Stabbert (Mayor of Cuxhaven) and Dr Hans-Friedrich Finck (managing director of Lohmann Tierzucht).

Probiotic gains approval for turkeys

Toyocerin, the first probiotic permitted in the European Union as an animal feed additive, has recently obtained a new authorisation for use in turkeys for fattening (20-100g toyocerin 1010/tonne feed; 200-1000g toyocerin 109 (premixture)/tonne feed). This new authorisation follows existing authorisations for the product for use in fattening chickens and other farm animals.

Rabobank to partner VIV

Successful co-operation between Rabobank and VNU Exhibitions Europe is to continue. Both partners have agreed to co-operate for a further six VIV shows in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Rabobank becomes the official ‘Knowledge Partner’ of VIV worldwide. The first project within the new co-operation was VIV Europe 2008/Moscow Edition in May.

Hy-Line technical school in Egypt

Hy-Line International has held its second regional Technical School for the Middle East and North Africa in Cairo, Egypt. Representing 25 countries, 140 participants from around the region attended the three-day event.

The first day of the school focused on commercial layers, with presentations covering topics in the areas of management, nutrition, H5N1 avian influenza, disease prevention, biosecurity and the company’s research programme. The second and third days of the technical school were for parent stock customers.

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Dow Biocides ups glutaraldehyde capacity

Dow Biocides, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, is to increase its production capacity in the USA for glutaraldehyde by approximately 60%. The extra capacity is expected to be operational by January 2009. Glutaraldehyde is a well known, versatile and effective biocide used in formulations to protect against microbial threats.

Glutaraldehyde from Dow Biocides is sold under a number of trademarks, as industrial use product called Glutaraldehyde 25% and 50% and glutaraldehyde products under at least 100 sub-registrations as customer branded products.

New EU approval for Calsporin probiotic

In 2006, the spore-forming probiotic, Calsporin, (Bacillus subtilis C-3102) was registered by European Commission for use in chickens for fattening at a dosage of 100ppm. New trials clearly indicated that similar positive effects, especially on feed conversion rates, could also be obtained with a dosage as low as 50ppm. The Commission has now approved this change, which makes the use of the product more economical.

Calsporin is manufactured in Japan by Calpis, and is sold and marketed in the European Union by Orffa.

Hydor founder passes away

Colin Hyde, a great character and well know in the agricultural ventilation industry, passed away in March after some years of ill health. Mr Hyde founded The Hydor Company Limited in 1963, and introduced into the UK a revolutionary two-speed range of fans from Europe. Other product lines followed, and over the years, markets expanded worldwide so that at one time, Hydor was the third largest exporter of fans to agriculture in the world. The Company was sold in 2004 to the Elta Group, which has further expanded the Hydor product range and widened the markets.

Strategic alliance between Grimaud and Newsham

Newsham Choice Genetics (West Des Moines, Iowa, USA; Newsham) and Groupe Grimaud (France; Grimaud), have entered into an agreement to form a long-term strategic alliance.

Grimaud is the second largest multi-species poultry genetics group supplying customers in more than 100 countries from its facilities in Europe, USA, Brazil and Asia. Newsham is the second largest supplier of pig genetics in North America.

Under the agreement, Grimaud takes an important interest in Bucolica BV, the Netherlands-based company holding a major interest in Newsham. Newsham original ownership – Bucolica, the Mitchell family and key Newsham employees – remain in control.

Grimaud’s investment in Bucolica occurs through its new holding – Pig Genetics Development Company – which will be the vehicle for its development in the pig genetics business, particularly in Europe and Asia.

Frédéric Grimaud, president of Groupe Grimaud commented, “I am very pleased with this agreement. It fits perfectly with our long term strategy to develop a global animal multi-species genetics group. This alliance brings a new promising dimension into our Group.”

Hendrix sells Plumex to its founder

Hendrix Genetics and Poultry Concepts have agreed that Poultry Concepts acquires an 80% shareholding in Plumex. The deal was effective from 1 January 2008.  Poultry Concepts is a consultancy company to the poultry industry and is owned by Jacques de Lang, who founded Plumex in 1976.

Award for Indian Herbs

All India Management Association (AIMA) has conferred the prestigious AIMA – Dr J.S. Juneja Award for 2007 to Indian Herbs of Saharanpur, India.

Established in 1951, Indian Herbs has developed a range of herbal animal feed supplements and health care products for poultry and other farmed species, now marketing in more than 30 countries.

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Award presentation: Honourable Union Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde (left) presenting the award to Indian Herbs chairman, Sushil Kumaar Agrawala (centre) and managing director, Sudhakar Agrawal (right).

News from Novus

Web site re-launched : Novus International has launched a new version of its web site, www.novusint.com . The site is designed as a content-rich, database-driven, web environment with market-specific technical and product information that positively reflects the image of Novus to the world.

The next major phases of development include the incorporation of different languages. The first phase includes Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, French and German.

New feed plant in China: Novus International Inc. has opened a new animal feed input plant in China. The new facility, located in the Ma Lu Jiading district (a suburb of Shanghai) will bring Novus closer to its Chinese customers while expanding overall production capacity. The 2200m²-facility is equipped with cutting-edge machinery made in the USA and China.

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Novus’ new plant near Shanghai

Air Products opens technology centre for Asia

Air Products has opened its Asia Food Technology Centre at the Thailand Science Park in Bangkok. Complementing existing technical facilities in North America and Europe, the new Centre has been established to provide innovative solutions and technical expertise to support the ever-increasing demands from the growing Asian food market.

“Air Products has been serving the food industry globally for over 40 years,” explained Dr Terrence Yee, regional director of applications, Air Products Asia. “By establishing this new Food Technology Centre in Asia, Air Products has significantly enhanced its position as the premier food solutions provider to the food industry.”

News from Alltech

Support for young scientists:  Alltech has announced its continued endorsement of young scientists from developing countries by supporting the prestigious Professor Tielen Fund Foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to promote the scientific, professional and moral education of graduated veterinarians and other scientists in the field of veterinary medicine from developing countries.

For more information about Prof. Tielen Fund Foundation, please visit https://www.isah-soc.org/

New office in New Zealand: Alltech has opened its first office in New Zealand. The new Auckland-based office will provide sales and service support to the growing number of partners and customers in the country.

Steve Bourne, vice president of Alltech Asia Pacific, commented, “Our newest Alltech office will enable our team to quickly identify issues encountered by New Zealand producers, working with them to provide solutions to those issues. This office will also allow us to build on our investment in research, continuing our work with Massey University and other partners.”

For the past 25 years, Cundy Technical Services Ltd (CTS) has distributed Alltech products in New Zealand. Mike and Diana Cundy will continue to provide support and consultative services to Alltech (NZ) Ltd in its developmental stages.

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Opening of the new Alltech office (left to right): Rob McFarlane (Alltech South Island technical sales manager); Jean Huggins (Alltech administrative assistant), Trish Lewis (nutrition consultant), Margaret Hakaraia (Alltech office manager), Diana and Mike Cundy (owners and founders of CTS)

Metal detection manual from Mettler

Metal detection technology specialist, Mettler-Toledo Safeline, has published a 64-page comprehensive metal detection manual. Developed for the global food production and pharmaceutical industries, the guide is for those involved in understanding and implementing metal detection technology.

Entitled Reduction of Metal Contamination – Building an Effective Programme, the new guide is available free of charge from www.mt.com/mdguide .