On November 8, the weekend before the EuroTier exhibition in Hanover Germany, the senior management of Cobb-Vantress visited the head office of Hendrix Genetics.

Initial discussions between the two companies occurred at the end of 2007 and was followed by the formal establishment of a strategic alliance on 3 July 2008.

Since that time, regular contact between the respective Research and Development Departments has resulted in the implementation of a four-year genomic selection study in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and several US and European Universities. The US$10 million poultry genomic selection study is being equally sponsored by Cobb-Vantress and Hendrix Genetics together with a US$2.5 million contribution by the USDA.

The recent meeting was a unique opportunity to introduce the management of both companies to each other and enable the teams to share market and business plans. Part of the weekend was used to relax and enjoy a social programme with everybody involved. During the week at Hanover both companies had the opportunity to work closely and continue the communication within the new organization.