CEVA Santé Animale, a global leader in the animal health industry, is investing $15 million in a new world-class poultry vaccine production plant for its US subsidiary, CEVA Biomune, Lenexa, Kansas. The new 53,000-square-foot, two-storey poultry vaccine operation is scheduled to be operational in the third quarter of 2010.

CEVA's decision to expand its operations in the United States will increase its production capacity and be instrumental in meeting the increased demand by poultry producers. The new facility is expected to boost output of its Marek's vaccines by more than five times, and allow it to nearly double its use of eggs per week for vaccine production.

CEVA Biomune president, Dr Arnaud Bourgeois, said: "CEVA's investment in the current Lenexa campus emphasises our dedication to poultry vaccines. Being a leader in poultry vaccines means investing in research and development, new technology and customer services. No other animal health company is currently committing this level of investment to support the poultry industry."

That is a job that continues to grow larger every year. Poultry is a critical source of food for the world, and demand for poultry and eggs continues to grow around the globe. According to the Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade, the poultry sector "displayed the largest growth of world consumption and production of all meat categories."¹

Globally, the demand for chicken is high:

• Total poultry consumption and production increased from 66 million tons in 1999 to 83 million tons in 2006.
• Poultry production, consumption and trade is expected to grow roughly 30 per cent in the next eight to 10 years.
• The UN Food and Agriculture Organization predicts that world egg production, which has increased in the United States, Japan, India and Mexico over the past four decades, will reach 72 million tons by 2015.²

Mr Bourgeois added: "Meeting the global demand for high-quality, poultry protein requires a continuous supply of vaccines to support food safety and healthy flocks.

"This is why CEVA plans to invest more than $100 million in R&D and construction of new facilities by 2012. This represents the highest ratio of re-investment dollars to sales dollars among poultry vaccine developers, and supports the company's mission of innovation, expertise and trust."

The new Lenexa vaccine plant, which will be one of the largest state-of-the-art CEVA facilities in the world, follows recent completions of Research & Development and Quality Control laboratories on the same campus. In addition, CEVA has a new vaccine plant going online in Europe this October, which will also help meet the worldwide supply needs of the poultry industry. These facilities are part of the $100 million CEVA has committed to investing through 2012.

References

¹ Prospects for Poultry Markets in the EU and Globally: 2008–2017. ThePoultrySite
² Egg Production Doubles Since 1990. Worldwatch Institute.