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Poultry manure layer heights of 20 cm are possible. Poultry house climate benefits from this system.

Efficient residue treatment with OptiPlate

Drying poultry manure outside of the house is a system with future. This is why Big Dutchman developed a new generation of plate drying systems for residue treatment which produce perfectly dried manure and need very little maintenance. The new technical features of OptiPlate are very convincing: Four new dryers have already been installed in the Netherlands since 2012. Three further dryers will start operating this year in France, the last one during the summer.

Innovative residue treatment

The plate drying system was developed in cooperation with the Dutch company AMP Technoworks. The system's compactness is especially striking, as it can even be installed at the gable site. Regarding the total length of the system, Jos Verheggen, AMP Technoworks, explains: “The compact construction of OptiPlate can be attributed to the improved traction force of the plates compared to belt dryers.” The result: the dryer is not even 24 meters long.

Its intake capacity is just as impressive: The perforated steel plates allow for a layer height of up to 20 cm. Moreover, the house air dries the fresh manure within three days – with a dry matter content of up to 90 percent.

Poultry house climate improves

“Drying fresh manure as soon as possible has many advantages,” says Rob Zanders from Versleijen AGRI bv, long-term Big Dutchman sales representative in the Netherlands and responsible for selling the four dryers in the neighbouring country. “Degradation processes can be stopped by extracting the liquids and the amount of developing smell and ammonia is significantly reduced. The weight of the manure also decreases.”

The poultry house climate improves greatly if the manure is transported from the shed within one day. This also benefits the hens' health. In addition, the emission of fine dust is reduced by 50 percent thanks to the final drying of the manure.

Unique plate redirection – low susceptibility to failure

A further advantage is the fact that the new plate drying system has proven to have very few failures: OptiPlate is equipped with a new, L-shaped plate redirection unit and a scraper at one end. This prevents clogged holes in the steel plates, ensuring that the manure falls through easily onto the next lower plate. An accumulation of manure is avoided. Another benefit is the fact that always the same side of a plate remains at the top. This keeps the underside of the plate clean.

“We first thoroughly examined all systems available on the market and listed their drawbacks and advantages,” illustrated Verheggen to show how Big Dutchman and AMP Technoworks cooperated for the development of the new system. “Next, we focused on the problems regarding residue treatment, found solutions and tested these extensively.” The pleasing result: The weak points of existing systems have been eliminated for OptiPlate.

Filling station and chopper

Two more improvements of the system are planned: For one, a filling station is to be included. This station will continually supply the dryer with manure. This will balance any fluctuations regarding the amount of supplied manure. Thanks to a distributor auger which spreads the manure perfectly on the belt, an even layer of manure enters the systems, ensuring the most efficient drying possible.

Additionally, a chopper will be installed at approximately half of the drying distance. This chopper will break up the half-dried manure to shorten the drying time and to reduce the volume of the manure.

amacs controls and manages residue treatment

There are also updates regarding the controlling of the system. “In future, OptiPlate will be controlled and managed by Big Dutchman's management and control system amacs – as uncomplicated as possible at the touch screen. The system can of course also be operated via your smartphone or tablet PC”, announces Verheggen.

Big Dutchman's well-proven poultry management software amacs is based on modern communication technology and used in many poultry houses the world over. Poultry producers can efficiently control and manage numerous functional areas like production or poultry house climate from virtually any place of the world. Take a look at our leaflet for further information. You can access the informative PDF file with just two clicks.

OptiPlate is available with 2 to 5 tiers. Every tier consists of two plate rows which can be loaded up to a layer height of 20 cm each. Apart from an efficient residue treatment, the poultry house climate also benefits greatly.

OptiPlate back view: The system consists of single movements of perforated plates onto which the manure is spread. Compared to other systems, the unique plate redirection unit ensures an efficient residue treatment.

Poultry India 2012: Big Dutchman displays its diverse product portfolio

Poultry systems make a good impression

Big Dutchman booth with modern poultry systems

“The event was a great success!” says Philip Dye. The Managing Director of the Big Dutchman office in Hyderabad, India, is pleased with the visitors' positive feedback regarding the most important poultry fair of the country: Indian producers visiting the Poultry India 2012 were very interested in the product portfolio presented by the German supplier of equipment for egg production, poultry growing and breeder management. The sixth edition of the fair recently took place at the Hitex Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad. The city is the capital of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh which is known as the “egg basket of India” and one of the country’s leading poultry producers.

Due to this, Big Dutchman presented a very diverse product range to the experts. In particular poultry management solutions developed for the Indian market were much sought after: “For decades now we have been catering for the needs of very different markets all over the world. Therefore, we can offer our Indian customers quite a diverse range of poultry systems and services which will be tailored to their specific needs, whenever and wherever possible,” explains Philip Dye. The Big Dutchman product range includes both simple installations and high-scale turn-key projects, from the build-up of small farms to fully-integrated agricultural enterprises.

In an interview he gave at Poultry India 2012, Philip Dye provided extensive information about Big Dutchman, its poultry systems and services. If you are interested in finding out more – please click here for the whole interview!

Interested in Big Dutchman poultry systems? Our product portfolio can be found here.

The poultry systems Big Dutchman had on display at Poultry India raised considerable interest.

Big Dutchman innovations such as the poultry cage Univent (on the right) have influenced the industry time again: thanks to the ventilation of the manure belts in each tier the layers are directly and uniformly supplied with fresh air. Moreover, in each row and tier almost identical temperatures can be reached. The manure can be dried to up to 60% dry matter content, and it is easy to transport and store it for quite a long time. This development signified a huge drive towards more efficient production so that Univent poultry systems have remained real bestsellers until today.

Indian poultry producers were very interested in the product portfolio.

Big Dutchman presents the Pig House of the Future

EuroTier 2012: 104 innovations and four silver medals

With six stands, 104 innovations and a stand area of about 3,000 m2, Big Dutchman showed what they are made of at this year's EuroTier. It was the greatest show presence in the history of the group based in... [more]

With six stands, 104 innovations and a stand area of about 3,000 m², Big Dutchman showed what they are made of at this year's EuroTier. It was the greatest show presence in the history of the group based in Calveslage.

Apart from the representative stands for the main business units poultry and pig equipment, the innovative Big Dutchman subsidiaries BD BlueSystems (treatment of slurry and digestate), BD PowerSystems (energy from biomass) and BDW Feedmill Systems (technology for mixed feed production) were also part of the largest international trade fair for animal production.

Before the start of the show, the German Agricultural Society (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, DLG) international expert committee had awarded four Big Dutchman innovations with silver innovation medals.

Four silver medals

One medal was granted for the first automatic manure belt control for layer management and the FarmPowerManager for livestock production. The FarmPowerManager is the very first energy management system for livestock farmers and was jointly developed by the Big Dutchman business units Poultry and Pig. Big Dutchman Pig Equipment GmbH received two more silver medals: The new heat detection system SowCheck as well as a new software tool for health monitoring of sows in group housing with electronic sow feeding system convinced the renowned jury.

The concept study "Pig Production 2030" proved to be especially popular with the visitors: On an area of 500 m² Big Dutchman presented a real-life housing concept for the future. The pig house provided a practical basis for discussion and encouraged the viewers to get actively involved in the further development of livestock farming – even after the show.

Image barometer: Big Dutchman on top

In the run-up of the show, leading farmers in all parts of Germany again confirmed the world market leader's innovative capacity as was illustrated by the recently published DLG image barometer 2012: According to the barometer, Big Dutchman is leading in livestock farming technology for the sixth time in a row and has further strengthened its top position. Pig and poultry farmers perceive the group as an excellent and especially innovative company. Big Dutchman also secured the first place for its on-line communication.

The Big Dutchman group is proud of four innovation medals

One silver medal was awarded to the first system for automatic manure belt monitoring and controlling in layer houses. The innovative manure removal is very animal-friendly, requires little time and effort and greatly reduces wear of the conveyor belts. Sensors attached to the sides of the manure belt can now identify deflections of the belt and ensure that the belt is straightened out in time. The system is put into a safe mode if the deflections are extreme. The new system can be used for all housing systems.

Save money by recognising saving potentials: The user-friendly FarmPowerManager collects all relevant information about energy consumption centrally, analyses tariff-dependent costs in real time and predicts the future consumption. This system received another silver innovation medal!

Visitors were also very interested in a new heat detection system specifically developed for sows in group housing with ESF stations and for outdoor systems. The special feature of this Big Dutchman innovation, also awarded a silver medal by the DLG jury: The new SowCheck system analyses and recognises when the sows are in heat by taking a look at what their senses perceive - automatically, without causing them stress and with a very high success rate. The animals are analysed and automatically selected nearly incidentally by technical and natural measures while the sows are staying inside the feeding station.

Pig producers using feeding-on-demand systems know: Health checks for sows housed in groups are of great importance and require a lot of time and effort. A software extension developed by Big Dutchman now provides unique support for these tasks: The new tool registers the sequence of the sows' visits to the ESF stations and can thus directly point to problem sows. This innovation was also honored with a silver medal. The Big Dutchman solution is backed by current scientific research results which show that strong deviations from the daily feeding times and therefore of the visiting sequence often indicate health problems or that the sow returns to heat.

"Free movement for pigs - through all stages of their life" was the basic idea of the Big Dutchman concept study "Pig Production 2030". The ambitious goal is a professional and profitable pig management without restriction of the pigs except for situations which call for the special protection of individual pigs. Furthermore, the ideas aim effectively to strengthen groups of young pigs.

BD BlueSystems presented an innovative membrane filtration system called MemFis for livestock farming at the EuroTier 2012. In a three-stage process, MemFis transforms manure and digestate into clear water, valuable fertiliser or useful input material for biogas plants. Outstanding: Big Dutchman has successfully eliminated the weak points of existing, technically elaborate systems, which consume large amounts of energy and also involve high costs. This was possible thanks to the use of innovative technologies which have already proven themselves in two years of practical use. Of importance is the second filter stage which features a special “oscillating” membrane and thus clears up clogged membranes, a very common problem in existing plants.

Video: enriched colony housing systems in detail

Fully “enriched” future in egg production

Egg production in the enriched colony housing system AVECH

A new survey indicates that American consumers overwhelmingly support national legislation requiring egg producers to switch to enriched colony housing systems. These provide the laying hens with nearly double the amount of space they currently have in conventional cages plus provide features which allow the hens to exhibit more of their natural behaviors.

Are you interested in learning more about enriched colony systems, what precisely they are, how they are beneficial and what the science behind them is? Then please follow this link: it leads you to a helpful video of the United Egg Producers giving a thorough overview of the new system. The housing system used to illustrate the “enriched” future of egg production was Big Dutchman’s AVECH.

More space and a variety of features which allow the hens to exhibit more of their behaviors: egg production in the enriched colony housing system AVECH

Detachment from own biogas subsidiary BD AGRO

Biogas plants: MT-Energie and Big Dutchman cooperate

MT-Energie GmbH, one of the leading producers of biogas plants in Europe in the future-oriented biogas branch, collaborates with Big Dutchman AG in the branch of biogas plants. The core of the collaboration is the sales cooperation between the two companies, both of which are leaders in their respective market segments.

Big Dutchman is the world’s largest equipment supplier for modern pig production and poultry production and has an excellent reputation with farmers worldwide. It is this environment which offers an excellent prerequisite for the construction of biogas plants. In the collaboration Big Dutchman customers will be advised by qualified MT-Energie professionals with respect to the construction of biogas plants. For MT-Energie the company from Vechta is the ideal partner to tap into new non-EU markets without having to invest in their own sales infrastructure in each market. This enables MT-Energie more cost-effective and faster market entries. Big Dutchman, on the other hand, profits from the high technical and commercial expertise of MT-Energie, which will of-course look after the prospective customers acquired through Big Dutchman independently as well as plan and design all biogas orders single-handedly.

Big Dutchman will not be dealing with the construction of biogas plants from now on. The subsidiary BD AgroRenewables GmbH & Co KG (BD AGRO) will be taken over by a company of the previous manager Uwe Heider, who will continue running the company, which is well positioned in Germany, under a new name. “We will be dealing with the planning and construction of biogas plants and the repowering of plants in Germany as well as in the neighbouring countries („near abroad“) on our own in the future”, confirmed Uwe Heider.

With a shareholding of 5% of MT-Energie, Big Dutchman underpins the high significance and long-term basis of the cooperation.

“For MT-Energie the cooperation is proof of the success of our business model”, declares Torben Brunckhorst, managing director of MT-Energie GmbH and adds: ”Of special interest to us are the markets Russia, Brazil, North America and Asia. In addition we also expect synergy effects in EU-markets like France, UK or Italy“

Also the Big Dutchman member of the Board of Management Kai Wehmeyer is looking forward to the cooperation: „Our customers in the biogas plant branch will profit worldwide from the cooperation. We know that they are in good hands with MT-Energie“.

About MT-Energie

With an annual turnover of approx. 200 million euros (2011), MT-Energie GmbH is one of the leading producers of plants in the future-oriented biogas branch. MT-Energie offers the whole portfolio of the biogas technology. MT-employees stand for high competence in the design of plant construction. In addition all biogas plants are offered, irrespective of manufacturer, technical and process biology services. In addition, through the subsidiary MT-Biomethan GmbH, MT-Energie is the leading provider of biogas process technology. MT-Biomethan specialises in gas purification (upgrading) and injection technology to feed purified gas into the public natural gas grid. Various opportunities for the use of this type of energy arise through this.

More information about MT-Energie: www.mt-energie.com