Aviagen’s Swedish business unit supplies customers across Norway, Iceland and Denmark as well as Sweden itself, and the event at Aviagen Ltd’s Edinburgh office was created to establish a forum for sharing information and experiences while providing access to and insights from Aviagen’s team of experts.

Aviagen SweChick customers enjoying the social activities in Edinburgh

Central to the visit was a two-day series of presentations and discussions on commercially relevant topics. Hatchery and production issues were also discussed, while sessions were tailored to the challenges facing individual customers in their local markets. Customers also had the opportunity to share their own experiences with others in what was a highly interactive environment.

Thomas Carlson, Managing Director of Aviagen SweChick, said: "There are many new faces in the Scandinavian broiler breeder business so we felt it would be ideal to host this year’s customer network meetings at the home of the Ross brand. We are very proud of our heritage and feel it is important to tell the story of the Ross bird while explaining how it is developing to ensure it continues to meet customers’ future needs."

In Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, performance of Ross products has been increasing and is now firmly established as the market leader. In order to continually support its customers in their aim to reach the top quartile in production performance, Aviagen SweChick has launched the Ross 140 Club, a forum where all flocks depleted during 2012 that reach 140 chickens to 60 weeks will be acknowledged.

Alan Thomson, Regional Commercial and Technical Manager, Europe, said: "The purpose of the discussions in Edinburgh was to highlight topics that our Scandinavian customers are dealing with and provide them with an open and interactive forum in which to hold discussions and learn from each other’s expertise.

"The social programme was also a great way for everyone to spend time together and renew old and establish new friendships."

Comments from customers who attended reflected their appreciation for the content of the seminar. Hans Ulrik Jensen from Danhatch was particularly taken by Aviagen’s presentation on physiological development, while Christoffer Anderson from Lantmännen SweHatch, a Swedish business, commented: “For me it was a great opportunity to meet with key personnel from Aviagen and to network with others in the Scandinavian business. Being new to working in the poultry industry, the seminars were also an excellent learning experience for me.”

Tómas Jónsson Matfugl, who was visiting from Iceland, added: "There were a lot of interesting topics covered which I can take back home to work with in my own business. I could also see that there has been a general improvement among the Scandinavian countries in regards to production performance."