The event was divided into the innovation and development forum in the morning, poultry sessions and pig sessions in the afternoon and the celebration of the 20th anniversary of BD China in the evening. More than 300 honored guests including cooperation partners from the industry attended this event.

Big Dutchman, a one-stop solution supplier

Mr. Walter Benz, president of BD China, kicked off the summit by giving a speech about BD China’s twenty-year history, including company size, business areas, capital investment, number of employees and milestone achievements.

Mr. Walter Benz joined Big Dutchman in January 2017. In his presentation, he highlighted BD China’s strategies in 2017 and the future. “We’ll strengthen our brand to maintain our leading position in the industry, put out high-quality products and continue innovation, improve after-sales services and farm management, reduce the response time to customers’ requirements, and work on environmental and energy-saving solutions, residue treatment solutions and animal welfare promotion as well as turn-key projects.”

At this event, with the launch of its building structure brand, Big Dutchman became a one-stop solution provider in China.

Sales manager Mr. Rodolfo Arreaga gave a presentation on Big Dutchman's building structure business. Big Dutchman’s recent acquisition of Betco Qingdao will facilitate the establishment of this new business.

Views on the future of the animal husbandry industry from more than 20 experts

More than 300 persons, including cooperation partners and media, participated in the summit. More than 20 speakers and their speeches attracted most of the attention.

In the morning, Ma Ji, a professor from China Agriculture University and the director of the center for economic research of Chinese farmers, delivered his presentation named The Market and Policy Analysis for Poultry Manure Treatment and Resource Utilization, which discussed layer manure treatment and its multiple influences on production and environment, today’s key issues and the professor’s thoughts on current policies.

Ms. Pan Chenjun, the Director of Agriculture and Food Research and Consulting of Rabo Bank Netherlands, presented An Outlook on the Global Meat Market, which forecast the 2017 output, prices and policies of meat products in different countries such as the US, China, the EU, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

The Veterinary Programme Manager Dr. Laura Higham gave a speech titled Sustainability in Food Supply Chains. Mr. Huang Jinwen, the COO of Chiwa Commercial Data Analysis Co., Ltd, presented Eliminating Risks in the Industry by Financial Instruments.

In the afternoon, separate poultry and pig sessions were held. For the poultry session, the speakers mainly focused on innovation, productivity, feed, exhaust air treatment and manure treatment.

CAU professor Ning Zhonghua delivered a speech on the topic Innovation Drives the Future Development of China’s Egg Industry. His presentation focused on revolutions and innovations in the egg industry.

Dr. Simon Turner, a professor from the Scottish Agricultural College, delivered his presentation Improving Layer Hen Productivity by Improving Their Welfare; CAU doctoral supervisor Tong Jianming presented The Volume of Trace Elements in Layer Feed; farm control expert Sven Künnen from Big Dutchman Germany gave a speech on Environmental Emissions Solutions – Exhaust Air Treatment (EAT); Situation and Trends Analysis of China’s Layer Industry was the topic of Secretary General of the Beijing Egg Products Processing and Sales Association Mr. Wang Zhongqiang, and climate control expert Jan Götting from BD Germany talked about Waste Management Solutions.

Sales Director Ron Lane of the business unit Pig of BD China kicked off the pig session. Topics in this session included Environmental Emissions Solutions – Exhaust Air Treatment (EAT) by farm climate control expert Sven Künnen from Big Dutchman Germany, Animal Welfare and the Differentiated Competitive Advantage Obtained by the head of the international cooperation committee on animal welfare of China agricultural international cooperation committee, Xi Chunling, OptiSec Manure Drying – A New Method of Waste Recycling by Jan Götting, The Positioning of China’s Pork Industry in Global Market by Ms. Pan Chenjun, and Sustainability in Pig Farming by Dr. Laura Higham.

All speakers elaborated on their topics and attracted the complete attention of the audience. During the tea break, participants and guest speakers exchanged their views on poultry residue treatment, environmental exhaust emissions and more.

Perfect combination of German standards and localization development in China in the past 20 years

Big Dutchman China was established in Tianjin, China, in 1997; in 2010, Beijing BIG DUTCHMAN Agriculture Machinery Co., Ltd, the head office of BD China, was set up in Beijing. This year Betco by Agricon has joined the Big Dutchman group as new brand of for turn–key solutions with professional metal buildings that include double panel for the global agricultural industry. The brand Betco by Agricon results from the takeover of Qingdao Betco by Big Dutchman. It is one of the leading suppliers of steel structures for livestock, specializing in pig and poultry management worldwide. Qingdao Betco is particularly active in the Asia-Pacific region.

A documentary film about the company told Big Dutchman’s history. After watching the milestone events on the big screen, all guests applauded for an ever-growing Big Dutchman. Big Dutchman’s 20th anniversary dinner party was also successfully held at the Ocean Spring Resort in the evening of 17 May.

Looking back on Big Dutchman’s history in China, Walter Benz said that in the past 20 years, from establishment to development, Big Dutchman has won customers and projects across the whole of China due to its high-quality products and services. On behalf of BD China, he also extended his thanks to the company’s cooperation partners and expressed his hope of continuous cooperation in future.