Chicks that earn money for broiler producers

Just a couple of years ago it was a wide expanse of empty land. Now, Optibrut’s production facility in Nordhorn, Germany has become a leading example of extremely high-quality, day-old-chick production.

The dream shared for many years by Hans Groot Koerkamp and Klaas Knol became a reality in the space of a year thanks to the help of managing director Wim van der Vegte, a motivated team of employees and an every-growing group of large poultry farms. “Everything is operating better than expected, but we aim for more”, is how Knol expresses their high standards.

Quality is the word that typifies the men behind Optibrut. High quality standards that apply from the production of top grade hatching eggs at the breeder right up to the transport and delivery of vital day-old-chicks to the broiler farm. Knol: “The basic principle of the Optibrut-concept is pretty similar to standard hatcheries, except for the last three days. At the moment of hatching, the chick has immediate access to feed and water in the illuminated HatchCare. This enables its development and heat production to start earlier. The chick can start boosting its immune system and growing. The stronger day-old-chicks this produces require fewer, or no, antibiotics to help them with further growth. That, combined with the technical advice Optibrut provides broiler producers with, creates added value. So, despite the higher price for the chicks, broiler producers actually earn more using our birds. These are key conditions to maintain a healthy broiler sector equipped to face the future.”

Hatchery of glass
The hatching process at Optibrut is open and transparent. This was an important condition placed by the men behind the initiative: “It was the architect’s idea to use a lot of glass in the design. That seemed impossible at first, but once we saw the drawings, we were enthusiastic straight away”, explains Groot Koerkamp. “The transparency of our operational processes here is perfectly reflected by the unique, (partly) glass building, which also features a visitors’ corridor. Day-old-chicks from Optibrut improve the profits and pleasure of broiler producers. Those two aspects make all the difference.”

German market
Three Dutch poultry experts who start a hatchery in Germany. So why was that location chosen instead of the Netherlands? Groot Koerkamp: “The site is easily accessible thanks to its central location in Nordhorn, and close proximity to the German-Dutch border. This makes Optibrut a professional partner for the German (5 times D) market. We work sustainably with partners including major German broiler breeders, who guarantee the supply of high quality and uniform hatching eggs for German, Dutch and Belgian broiler producers.”

“Delivery of 1.3 million day-old-chicks per week next year”

The company also collaborates with Dutch and Belgian poultry farms, and Optibrut hopes to increase the scope in the future. Wim van der Vegte joined the Optibrut project last summer and is tasked with helping to achieve that aim: “We are using three quarters of the hatchery’s capacity at the moment. We are currently sold out for the German 5-D market. The hatching eggs from the Netherlands will be used to supply broiler producers along the Dutch-German border. We aim to deliver 1.3 million day-old-chicks per week to German, Dutch and Belgian broiler producers next year.”

Capacity to expand
The hatchery was built for a capacity of 40 million birds per year and if the extra setters are equipped with climate control, scaling up to 80 million chicks annually is feasible. In the space of a year, Optibrut has gone from zero to an output that converts to more than 30 million day-old-chicks per year. Van der Vegte: “We are in a crucial phase at present that involves integrating the expansion investments into the existing system. In the coming months we also plan to further optimise chick storage before transport using the insights we have gained and install some HatchCare Chick Storage rooms for newly hatched chicks.”

Klaas Knol continues by adding: “We don’t like to say ‘no’ to customers, but sometimes we have to now. That goes against our principles, so we want to upscale the facilities here as quickly as possible. But when all is said and done, I’m exceptionally pleased with growth until now. Considering how we started and where we are today with all the possibilities we have, it would be hard to feel otherwise. Bearing in mind we were told the market was saturated before we started, we have proven in the past year that our methods and vision really can make a difference. We had to use all our powers of persuasion, but in doing so we gained the confidence of the poultry sector. That is an accomplishment we are tremendously proud of and a motivation to push forward”

 

Source: Optibrut, Pluimveekrant December Edition, 06-02-2019