Rembrandt sues Tecno Poultry over cage system collapse

Iowa-based egg production company Rembrandt Enterprises is suing Tecno Poultry Equipment, alleging Tecno’s failure to properly install a caging system resulted in the death of a worker and a $21 million loss to the company.

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Zerbor | BigStock.com

Iowa-based egg production company Rembrandt Enterprises is suing Tecno Poultry Equipment, alleging Tecno’s failure to properly install a caging system resulted in the death of a worker and a $21 million loss to the company.

According to a report in the Storm Lake Times, Rembrandt filed a petition last week, in which the claims were made regarding the collapse of a barn and a caged laying system, which was installed by workers from the Tecno Poultry Equipment, an Italian company.

“The poultry system collapse in question was caused by the negligence, carelessness and recklessness of the defendant … in their design, manufacturing and installation of the poultry caging systems,” Thomas Henderson, an attorney representing Rembrandt Enterprises, wrote in the petition to the court.

The suit further alleges fasteners and brackets to support the cages were not installed when it was put in place in 2007, and a feeder rail system the attorney described as poorly designed contributed to the collapse of the cage system. The rail system apparently caused the cage system to be unstable because of inconsistent weight distribution and the movement of the feeder trolley.

The collapse of the system at the company’s facility near Rembrandt caused the death of Humberto Jesus Lopez, a resident of Worthington, Minnesota, in February 2020.

In the suit, Rembrandt Enterprises is seeking a judgment for damage to the facility’s egg conveyor and environmental control systems, as well as losses related to the interruption of business.

When contacted by WATT Global Media, a spokesperson for Rembrandt Enterprises said the company does not wish to comment on the lawsuit.

Rembrandt Enterprises, headquartered in Spirit Lake, Iowa, is a vertically integrated egg products company that manages the entire process from grain to finished product. According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, the company has a flock of 7 million hens and ranks as the 13th largest egg producer in the United States.

Tecno Poultry Equipment’s first laying systems were designed in 1980. Since 2016, it has been part of the AGCO Corporation.

 

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