Hydor News
Israeli farming expertise comes to UK
Hydor, specialists in the design, manufacture and supply of fans, controls and systems to the agricultural and horticultural markets, have been supplying Rotem systems in the UK for 10 years. Rotem design and manufacture systems to optimise feed conversion and energy consumption from their base in Israel. Mr Halfon's visit from 21-26 March was part of an ongoing programme whereby Hydor and Rotem are working closely to develop systems tailored to the needs of the UK farmer to maximise performance and minimise costs. Further training on the Rotem technology, including wireless accessibility set ups, was also delivered by Mr Halfon to Hydor personnel to ensure the best possible service is available to Hydor's customers.
Amongst the farms visited was the Lincolnshire site of Moy Park, one of several facilities operated by the supplier of own label and customer branded chicken products to leading retail and foodservice customers across Europe. At the time of the visit, the site had just reached the third crop of birds for which a Rotem RSC-2SE Weighing Scale has been used as part of a trial programme. The results are proving very positive, allowing Moy Park to achieve more precise measurement when weighing a mixed flock. The Rotem scales identify males and females individually, providing not only improved accuracy but also, as an automated system, significant savings in man hours, increased bird throughput and a much more accurate average weight.
The visit from Mr Halfon enabled discussions regarding potential for further improvements, including the capability for the system to be compatible with Windows 7 software, the addition of a 'day zero' in the programme to more accurately reflect the growth cycle. The system has also been enhanced via a remote communication setup which will allow data from all the sheds on site to be downloaded straight to head office following the installation of the equipment in the remaining houses.
Toke Wilson of Hydor accompanied Mr Halfon to meet with Charles Simpson at Lower Heath Farm, soon to become the largest poultry site in the UK and equipped throughout with Hydor and Rotem equipment. The visit led to a plan of amends to settings on existing software for the Rotem Platinum controller which will improve its ability to satisfy the needs of the UK market. With CO2 monitoring becoming increasingly vital to ensure the optimum environmental conditions for bird growth Rotem are also now developing solutions following their visit to improve this functionality of their products.
Jeremy Sanderson, (Technical Sales Executive), with Hydor said "Myself and two colleagues who went out to the Rotem factory a couple of years ago learnt a lot from that experience but you cannot beat a site visit to really understand how a system is working and, importantly, to get feedback from those who are using it on a daily basis to see where improvements can be made. The trip to Moy Park, as well as to other farms using Rotem systems, proved invaluable for us, as well as demonstrating that the expertise that we have in agricultural ventilation is backed by a first class designer and manufacturer of control and management systems.
Hydor Ltd is part of the £70 million Elta Group, a family of businesses with operations in six countries on four continents which, together with a network of international distributors, provides quality fans and related air movement equipment to customers worldwide.
