Central European Seminar Breaks New Records
HUNGARY - Aviagen Kft, Aviagen’s Hungarian business unit, recently held their 5th seminar for Central European (CE) Parent Stock customers in the famous thermal resort of Heviz, near Lake Balaton.Attended by over 220 guests from 17 countries, the three-day event consisted of a mixture of regional country updates, practical management advice and topical presentations.
Country reviews of the Central European region, including Hungary, Serbia & Bosnia, Romania, Czech Republic & Slovakia, Bulgaria and Slovenia & Croatia, given by Aviagen’s local representatives, highlighted the continued increase in demand for Ross products in the region.
Barrie Fleming, Regional Consultant Veterinarian, updated the audience on future developments in use of antibiotics and probiotics.
Nutritionist Leonardo Linares’ presentation was extremely well received by the audience as it covered the topical subject of ‘High Feed Costs: Alternatives’. Mr Linares evaluated possible ways to decrease costs by using alternative raw materials to combat the challenging rise in feed costs.
Santiago Avendano, Director of Global Genetics, gave an insight into the breeding programme for the next five years, focusing on selection strategies for future success.
Timea Torma, QA Manager, illustrated practical tools to maximise hatchability and chick quality, which included a lot of advice available in Aviagen’s series of ‘How To’ documents.
The Seminar also featured the presentation of the Regional Ross PS Flock Awards, recognising excellent performance and chick output.
The award for best overall performance went to Martin Hrvatin from Jata Emona, Slovenia, who achieved an outstanding result of 146 chicks to 60 weeks.
The social programme gave delegates an opportunity to visit Sümeg Castle, Hungary’s best preserved fortress, and enjoy a historical tournament followed by a sumptuous medieval feast.
The audience at this year’s CE Seminar for the first time included customers from Georgia, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, reflecting the popularity of the Ross brand in the region as it continues to reach new markets.
Tamaz Tsikarishvili from Georgia commented: "We are pioneers in the chicken industry in our country and have a lack of theoretical, as well as practical knowledge, so all of the presentations were particularly interesting for us. The presentation by Mr Leonardo Linares was especially useful for us. We are opening a new feed mill and learnt a lot in that respect. We were also grateful to receive Russian literature and realise that for Aviagen communicating with customers is of vital importance. We look forward to being able to provide our customers with high-quality Ross 308 chickens and to Aviagen’s continued consultation and technical support.”
Georgi Nalbantov of Gradus Company in Bulgaria, said: “The CEE left very good impressions with me due to the very good organisation from the hosts, the presence of excellent speakers from all over the world and an interesting mix of customers from many countries in Europe. The meeting with Aviagen specialists, current and future customers and colleagues from different countries is very useful for me personally as a specialist. This was first the Seminar I attended and I would like to thank to all of Aviagen team for the attention and time for us.”
Neil Clark, Area Technical Manager, summarised the seminar: ”Bringing so many customers together provides a unique atmosphere for sharing experience and advice. The Seminar was a great platform to exchange information and work together for the future growth of the brand. I am delighted with the results our customers are achieving and would like to thank them for their commitment and dedication to the continued success of Ross in the region.”