The new hatchery, which will be located at Tudela in the Navarra region of Spain, 300km to the west of Barcelona, will incorporate 25 SmartSetPro™setters using Pas Reform’s space-saving honeycomb 162 SmartTrays™, for the highest number of hatching eggs per square metre and incorporating Microban® antibacterial technology, and 24 SmartHatchPro™ hatchers.

In addition, Pas Reform is designing and installing a bespoke HVAC (climate control) system, including a hatchery-specific heat recovery system, to maximise efficiencies and reduce costs while maintaining biosecurity throughout the facility and creating an optimised environment for producing high quality day-old chicks.

Comprehensive automation in the new hatchery will include SmartTransfer™ for the simultaneous transfer of up to 34 setter trays and a complete candling and transfer line, with automatic unloading, stacking and de-stacking; an automatic separator will deliver hatched chicks, without remnants of shell, to the next stage of processing.

A double SmartCount™ counting and boxing system, incorporating Pas Reform’s innovative new Vision Technology, will count and box chicks after inline sexing and high pressure washing machines will ensure the thorough cleaning of all trays, baskets and boxes between hatch cycles.

Running behind every aspect of hatchery operations, Pas Reform’s advanced SmartCenterPro™ Hatchery Information System will integrate the control of incubation, HVAC (climate control) and automation systems to a single user interface, recording all key data and generating batch reports to assist the hatchery manager in the full optimization of hatchery performance.

As a leading producer of poultry products in Western Europe, the Spanish poultry sector has grown considerably in recent years. With a substantial share of this growing market, UVESA’s general director, Raúl Gómez Arranz, says that investment in a new hatchery is a logical move for the Company which is committed to deploying the latest, most advanced incubation technologies in its operations.

He said: “In our search for the most innovative solutions for a new green project, we have visited hatcheries in several Western European countries over the last five years - and seen the level of equipment and results that are being delivered by Pas Reform’s hatchery technologies.

“We were impressed by [Pas Reform’s] technological advancements and while we did look initially at working with separate suppliers for incubation and hatchery automation systems, we found that Pas Reform was very able to combine both and truly deliver a complete hatchery solution for UVESA.”

Rodrigo Garcia, UVESA’s hatchery manager, said: "We see many advantages to working with a single supplier for all systems. Aside from streamlining development by working with just one engineering team for this project, we will see advantages once the hatchery is in operation, by being able to integrate incubation data with climate control data and hatchery automation data through the new SmartCenterPro system.

“The combination of optimizing incubation profiles to achieve the shortest hatch windows, while integrating these hatch window measurements with the uniformity frequency distribution of day old chicks from the SmartCount™ technology will open new horizons for the hatchery in the years to come.”

Jaume Santaularia, Pas Reform’s representative in Spain, added: “We have been gaining market share over the last five years in Spain with installations at Crusvi, Aviagen, Avilesa and Avigan Teralta. This new green field hatchery with Uvesa is an important development to our positioning in the Spanish market - and moreover an exciting one, as it showcases all our specialisms, incubation, climate control and hatchery automation, in a truly future-focused new hatchery environment.”

Erwin Prinzen, Pas Reform sales director, concluded: “Western Europe is a region of great importance to Pas Reform’s strategic growth plans. Over the last few years, we have built several new green field projects in the region, among them new hatcheries for ISA in the Netherlands and Tetra, in Hungary.

"This new project for UVESA is a further and unique opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities as a total hatchery solutions provider, with the full integration of incubators, climate control and hatchery automation systems. We are delighted to have been commissioned – and look forward to placing UVESA’s state-of-the-art new hatchery as an important reference site for Pas Reform in Western Europe.”

left to right: Raúl Gómez Arranz, Bouke Hamminga, Rodrigo García, Erwin Prinzen and Marco van der Leij