Global professionals from various companies were able to share their knowledge, skills and experience of the layer business with the Chinese market. Companies participating in this event included Moba from the Netherlands, Hy-line and Alltech from the US, Lubing and Lohmann from Germany.

^{Participants from all around China gathered for the 2015 Egg Week in Beijing, China}

Each session was split into three main topics: nutrition, genetics and equipment. Alltech, Hy-line and Lohmann helped bring information about the nutrition and genetics of the industry while Moba, Lubing and Big Dutchman covered the latest advancements in cages, conveyors and automated systems.

"This was a great opportunity, not only for us but for our customers as well," said Brian McCawley, President of Big Dutchman China. "To bring about so many professionals from all around the world into one meeting and share what their companies offer, this is something great for China. We're happy we can present Western technology advancements and are excited by the opportunity it will bring."

The event itself started out at the Crowne Plaza in Lido, Beijing, on Monday, 9 November. The event then continued with stops at Mianyang, Sichuan and finally at Changsha, Hunan.

Global collaboration with Big Dutchman, Lubing, Moba, Hy-Line, Lohmann and Alltech

Each stop was highlighted by topics and speeches given by global professionals from each company. To start off the meetings at each location, Dr. Fernando Rutz and Dr. Steve Elliott, of Alltech, focused on the importance of nutrition and element tracing for quality egg production. Dr. Rutz, a professor at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas in Brazil, discussed and emphasized the key ingredients in nutrition to bring safe, healthy eggs to the dinner table. Dr. Elliott stressed the risks with ingredients and the importance of testing for contaminants.

Dr. Doug Grieve of Hy-line focused more on the chicken itself; how to balance all the right elements for bird management in order to keep consistent egg quality for over 100 weeks. Topics Dr. Grieve covered included nutrition, bird health, housing environments and genetics.

Mr. Javier Ramírez, from Lohmann, shared with Egg Week his experience of layer management as well as breeding, genetics and technical expertise. He has over 40 years of experience in this field, providing valuable knowledge about egg production to the Chinese market.

Michael Abeln, working as Technical Director of Lubing, focused on conveyor systems, cleaning and specifics elements. With the information Mr. Abeln shared, we were able to get a good understanding of German quality and engineering.

From Big Dutchman's side, James Symons, Sales Director for China Layer business, and Dr. Chuck Strong, Technical Director, offered up a comparison of different system types available from competitors and Big Dutchman. Their main points concluded Big Dutchman’s strength of quality products with consistent performance across all areas in the layer house. Houjie, Poultry Electrical Manager for Big Dutchman, shared with the group the Viper Touch system: an advanced, touch screen controller system to offer full control over a variety of important farm components; including climate, feeding, production and conveyor systems.

Wrapping up the day, Christoffer Ernst of Moba presented his topics on food safety and enhancements to the production line; key areas that will gain more attention as China concentrates more on food safety in the future years. His equipment focuses specifically on the technology around packaging, a final process before ending in the hands of the consumer.

Dr. Mark Lyons, the Vice President of Alltech, concluded the meeting by bringing all thoughts from the day together. Dr. Lyons challenged the audience to think about the presentations given and how the knowledge shared can create better overall organization of Chinese industry and companies.  

This was the first year Big Dutchman, along with its partners, has held the Egg Week in China, with over 400 participating amongst the three locations they attended. Big Dutchman wants to thank its partners for helping organize this event and all those who were involved and participated. We look forward to next year’s event, the 2016 Egg Week!