Major player in poultry

"Couvoir Dick plays a major role in Tunisia, since we cater to 42 per cent of the national demand for broilers. With this state-of-the-art hatchery, we want to secure our position as market leader in the poultry sector and improve incubation results by using Embryo-Response Incubation™ technologies present in the Petersime BioStreamer™ incubators. Moreover, it gives us the possibility to renew the older hatcheries," explains Mr Abdelwaheb Ben Ayed, CEO of Poulina Group Holding.

The new hatchery is the third hatchery in the Couvoir Dick series. It is situated in Saouef, in the north of Tunisia, a hundred kilometres away from the capital. The new hatchery is equipped with Petersime’s top-of-the-line BioStreamer™ incubators. It was built in two stages and is able to handle more than one million eggs weekly.

Improved results

The results after the installation? Mr Tirellil Noureddine, Incubation Department Manager, points out: "In order to achieve optimal technical results and meet the demand of our clients, we work with high-end incubation technology and incubation equipment. The results did not fail to arrive soon: in comparison with the older machines, hatchability has increased with 2 per cent to 3 per cent and the rate of second-grade chicks decreased with 0.5 per cent."

Preferred partnership with Petersime and Cidape

"What we prefer the most in our cooperation with Cidape and Petersime – keeping in mind the importance of Poulina and especially the fact that our incubation park represents more than 50 per cent of the existing incubation facilities in the country – is that we can rely on a special treatment, with more attention, that is unequalled by other companies.

"Our relationship does not limit itself to transactions: we get lifelong support. We also prefer to work with them because they offer training and establish good connections with our staff. We have always worked with their equipment. Our relationship with Cidape, our contact agent working with Petersime, dates back all the way to 1967."

Poulina Group Holding

Couvoir Dick is a subsidiary of Poulina Group Holding, the first Tunisian private group. Poulina Group Holding owns 108 subsidiaries, of which 23 abroad. The Group started with poultry in 1967. It then embarked on a strategy to integrate all the activities of this industry, from the import of breeding to processed products distribution. Now, the group is active in several activity sectors, from mass consumption goods to public works and infrastructure. But the poultry sector, the heart of the Group, still accounts for more than 42 per cent of its revenue.

With three hatcheries, Couvoir Dick provides the market with broilers, while Couvoir Ennajeh and Couvoir Saba supply layers and poults respectively. Last year, revenue went 5 per cent up and it is expected to rise with 6 per cent per year thanks to a firm boom in export sales (+30 per cent) of poultry.

Poulina Group Holding aims to strengthen its position as market leader in the poultry sector by providing quality products in order to satisfy their clients. The installation of Couvoir Dick is another step further in this strategy.