Big Dutchman

Three days of an international agents meeting were concluded appropriately with a big celebration on the premises of Big Dutchman in Vechta-Calveslage (Germany) in the month of July. More than 160 representatives of Big Dutchman agencies from 58 countries had come to Northern Germany to attend this. Together with the staff of the market leader for housing equipment the distribution partners enjoyed the ending of the eventful days. For the first time, due to the high number of participants most of the events were held in the Congress Centre in Bremen (CCB).

The 3-days-agenda comprised numerous lectures on housing equipment for poultry as well as for pig management. Under the motto „Understand Technology“ experts from the headquarters in Vechta-Calveslage as well as noted experts from the field lectured on product innovations, feeding possibilities and practical experience. Moreover, different workshops with discussions afterwards were on the agenda. At the end of the 3-days-meeting a participation certificate was awarded to the distribution partners. For the agents’ wives joining their husbands the Big Dutchman staff members had prepared an entertaining ladies’ programme.

The first agents meeting was held in 1987 and was organised with the intention to offer the agents a world-wide exchange of experiences. Bernd Meerpohl – chairman of the Big Dutchman AG – reported to the distribution partners that since the last meeting in the summer of 1995 Big Dutchman had grown by 100 percent. „The Big Dutchman family has grown in recent years by many new agencies all over the world“, Mr Meerpohl added and he revealed that forecasts on turnover for Big Dutchman in 2002 amounted to about 240 million Euros. This success had been made possible thanks to the hard work of the staff members in Calveslage and of the numerous agencies worldwide, he explained.

In future, Big Dutchman will be developing its activities in East Europe by means of the recently founded German-Russian Joint Venture called „O.O.O. Tjumen-Vechta GmbH.” Representatives of both partners officially started the project in a contract signing ceremony during the latest conference of the Russian Poultry Association. Dieter Hempelmann for Big Dutchman International GmbH and Victor G. Kulchikhin as the general director of O.A.O. Tjumenskie motorostroiteli agreed on joint production and distribution of pig and poultry equipment in Western Siberia. Big Dutchman holds 51% of shares of the new company.

With this Joint Venture contract now signed, which was accompanied by great interest from the media, two highly competent companies with very good reputations will now be co-operating together. O.A.O. Tjumenskie motorostroiteli is one of the most important Russian producers of turbines and gas conveyor systems with 5300 employees and enormous manufacturing capacities. The Big Dutchman company with approx. 200 million €uro turnover is known to be the world-wide market leader in the livestock industry.

The new Joint Venture company gets off to a good start. “We already have orders from three of the most important egg producing companies in the Ural region with an outline agreement going as far as 2004.”, says Dieter Hempelmann, who is in charge of sales to Central and Eastern Europe at Big Dutchman and who negotiated to create this new partnership. “Moreover, Tjumen, which is considered the centre of the very important Russian gas and oil winning regions, as well as our economically and politically strong partner, is an important factor for a continuing successful development of this project.”

However, one of the main causes for this co-operation far away from the company headquarters, besides economic reasons, is, according to president Dieter Hempelmann, the political decision against any kind of cage management for poultry in Germany. “Soon, nobody will believe in our existing know-how as the market leader in the area of cage management any longer. We were practically forced to transfer our knowledge step by step and to create manufacturing technology close to the real market as well as research and development capacities, in order to demonstrate our products also to our customers in the future.”

According to Mr. Hempelmann, O.O.O. Tjumen-Vechta GmbH has immediately started production of sheet metal components for Eurovent cage batteries. It is exactly this kind of system that is already being used for more than 70 million bird places world-wide. “Approx. 35% of the parts for the orders in Western Siberia will now be produced in Tjumen.” With upward tendency.

This new commitment, however, is not supposed to be restricted to only cage management. “When the sales team has grown so that other regions and countries can also be taken care of, as well as when stock keeping and after-sales service in Tjumen can be ensured, products for poultry growing and pig equipment will also be produced and sold.

“We get good credits for our new strategy in Russia”, says Dieter Hempelmann. “People are grateful that we actively take part in building up Russian food production. With energy-saving systems that work economically – and with maximum hygiene. This is real product safety and customer protection.”

Photo: Much recognised by the media, Dieter Hempelmann (right at the table) and Victor G. Kulchikhin (left) signed the contracts on the occasion of the latest Russian Poultry Association conference for the foundation of the new German-Russian Joint Venture company O.O.O. Tjumen-Vechta GmbH.

From 6th to 9th November 2001, the VIV Europe 2001 show in Utrecht (Netherlands) is open to the public. Big Dutchman can especially look forward to this year’s most important show of the international livestock industry. The reason for this: As the show approaches, it has already become known that two innovations from the world-wide market leader housing equipment and feeding systems will receive a VIV Europe 2001 Award. According to Ben de Jong, press officer of Jaarbeurs Exhibition & Media, the new Big Dutchman tube feeder for pregnant sows in group management, for example, ranks among the best innovations in the area of modern pig management, agreed on by an independent selection committee. On the poultry side, Big Dutchman will receive an innovation price for the AMACS management and control system. Thanks to its software based on web technology it allows a so-called „transparent production“. Amacs enables data acquisition, survey and control of traditional and alternative layer houses in real time from anywhere in the world. These are, however, not the only innovations presented by Big Dutchman – the world-wide No. 1 of its line of industry will have their representative show booths in two different halls. In Hall 3 (stand 3.B.024 & 3.B.025) the market leader will show its complete range of products for modern poultry management. Interested pig farmers, however, should visit Big Dutchman in Hall 11 (stand 11.D.034), where the company will exhibit their product range for pig management. Climate control, alternative layer management and EU-conform management systems are the highlights of poultry presentations. Plenty of real innovations on these sectors give an impression of the experience and competence of the company Big Dutchman. In the pig equipment sector, Big Dutchman offers well thought-out feeding systems as well as the renowned durable housing systems. Detailed further developments and practical innovations show the efficiency of the company from Vechta (Germany) which operates world-wide.