Whilst the big talking point at the show is the announcement that Nutreco and Hendrix Genetics have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the sale of Euribrid (which includes Hybro, Hybrid and Hypor) to Hendrix Genetics for what seems to some as a surprisingly low price of just EUR 50 million, there are also a good number of new and innovative products on show that are grabbing attention. Of particular interest are:

• The major breakthrough by Merial with their new Vaxxitek HVT and IBD vaccine which gives life-long Mareks and Gumboro protection to the chicken at the hatchery in a single dose. The vaccine can be applied in ovo or by the subcutaneous route and is causing considerable excitement as it really does have the potential to revolutionise chicken health programmes, particularly for the broiler industry.
  
  

• CPM's new MicroCoater which is again something of a major breakthrough in the application of liquids to feed pellets. The machine is a testament to those who believe in design simplicity with its S-shaped chamber replacing the massively complicated designs that are commonly used.
  However this is an extremely clever design which gives both high throughput (up to 110 tonnes per hour) together with previously unattainable levels of accuracy and uniformity in fat application. It is not often that we get excited about feed mill equipment but this one 'hit the spot'.
  
  

• The new Ovocheck automated candling machine from Visio Nerf again combines innovation with simplicity and was gathering considerable interest from large scale hatchery and breeder men as the machine combines engineering and software to reduce costs and improve candling efficiency and data capture.
  
  

• The near silent running of the Smart Motion Robotics product handling and packing robots are impressive before you look at their ability to save costs and speed up these operations in the factory. Smart Motion Robotics are debuting their robots at the show but have been working with Moba and Diamond so interfacing with standard egg grading and packing lines is going to be very easy.

There is much to investigate and excite visitors to IPE particularly for those looking to invest in the long term for their businesses.

ThePoultrySite at the Show