This visit was organised by Scott Gillingham, Aviagen’s Regional Business Manager, Canada, with Aviagen’s UK Marketing Team, to give the customers an insight into European food trends which are a benchmark for future developments and strategic business planning in Canada.

The Lilydale delegation came to Europe on a fact-finding mission to ‘listen, observe and learn’ from Aviagen’s team of specialists and Aviagen’s UK customers to enhance their knowledge of poultry welfare and regulations as well as consumer trends in the UK. Another key objective was to gain an understanding of how a breeding company like Aviagen and UK integrations adjust to customer and consumer requirements.

Lilydale are a 100% Canadian company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, with facilities located in four provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec. Since 1940, the company has been providing Canadian families with safe, wholesome, premium quality chicken and turkey products. Although proud of their rich history and heritage, Lilydale is always looking to the future to develop innovative new products that offer Canadians convenient and nutritious meal solutions for their family's active lives. They enjoy being one of Canada's most recognized brands and were honoured to be named one of Alberta's Most Respected Corporations in 2007 by Alberta Venture Magazine.

Lilydale has been an Aviagen customer since 2002 and the partnership between the 2 companies has gone from strength to strength. The Ross 308 is the product of choice for Lilydale as its excellent performance results meet their business requirement in all aspects. Another important factor for the strong working relationship is that it is based on mutual trust and respect and both companies have a similar business philosophy and culture of excellence.

Sunny Mak, Lilydale’s Vice President of Live Operations, commented: “We have really enjoyed our visit to the UK. It has been a great opportunity to meet with many of the senior Aviagen staff and we have been impressed by the depth of knowledge and experience available in the company and the UK. Our team learnt so much from this trip which has provided us with direction and innovation to enable us to move forward as one of the leading brands in Canada. We would like to thank Aviagen and all involved in the comprehensive visit programme who made it such a success."

Randall Ennis, Aviagen's Chief Executive Officer, added: "Aviagen and Lilydale are strong partners and, through regular visits and close communication, consistently review and consider opportunities for growing chicken in healthier environments to ensure the sustainability of chicken in the Canadian region. This was an excellent opportunity for both parties to reinforce and consolidate our long-standing commitment and also allowed us to further discuss joint initiatives to further strengthen our partnership. Much was gained from the sharing of knowledge and the interaction with our UK customers during our visit. ”