Hotraco Agri

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Cage-free layer house in the USA

The new 3 floor aviary farm, with 150.000 layers, is controlled by an innovative Fortica® control panel.

New ventilation concept in sustainable poultry houses

Lamberdina's Hoeve is one of the most sustainable poultry farms in the world.

Broiler house in Poland

The first chickens have arrived in the new broiler house in Poland. This brand new broiler house with 66400 broilers is completely controlled by the all-in-one Fortica® system.

Cow barns in Belgium

Hotraco recently delivered the controllers for cow barns in Geel, Belgium.

Modern farm for 6000 finishers

Recently, two new modern pig houses have been realized with the latest technology. The pigs in these farm are produced with the Beter-Leven-Keurmerk 1 star. All departments have daylighting and each animal has at least 1 square meter of living space. The ventilation is very closely regulated, using the SmartFlow principle. The SmartFlow measures the pressure difference between the section and the central plenum to compute how much air is flowing in each section. The whole farm is equipped with dimmable and non-dimmable LED lighting. The complete control of the climate and lighting is done by the modern Thomas® system. The system is linked to the EasyButton, that can be used to select variouis phases per section.

Breeder houses in Spain

In Spain, three new breeder houses are being built. The animals will be fed under control of the innovative Fortica® system with special hopper feeding regulation for breeders. With this control, the poultry farmer can not only ration the feed, he can also control the amount of feed and feed composition for cocks and hens separately. This makes it possible to ensure the optimum condition of the animals and achieve a maximum number of hatching eggs and high fertilization rate.

Calf barns in Canada

New calf barns were recently built in Canada, using the automation system from Hotraco Agri. The ventilation system and manure scrapers are completely controlled by the cutting-edge Thomas® system. Pushing the manure under the grates drastically reduces the NH3 level in the barn. The scrapers are run 12 times a day by a timer. This comprehensive solution maintains an optimum climate and ensures the good health of the calves.

Equal pressure ventilation system in new laying hen house

The Hooijdonk family of Huijbergen (NL) recently opened a new laying hen house.

Perfect climate in trailers for pigs

In South Africa the Thomas® controls have been installed in trailers for pigs. The Thomas® system regulates the right climate for pigs during transport. This ensures a pleasant transport and a high health of the animals. The system is linked to a smartphone app, so that the climate can be controlled remotely.

Control broiler houses from one system

The user-friendly Fortica® system controls four broiler houses, with a total of 110,000 animals, at the Mekkes farm in Geesbrug, located in the province of Drenthe in the Netherlands. Controlling all stable processes from one reliable system is ideal, according to the broiler farmer Mekkes. The Fortica® system controls the climate, feed, water, animal weighing and lighting in all the houses. Good climate control really makes a difference, says Mekkes. This is reflected in the health and growth of the animals.

Breeder barns in Belgium

In Belgium, two new breeder barn installations have been completed by our Belgian dealer Ventilec.

Broiler Breeder project

Hotraco Agri attended the Open Days of a new Broiler Breeder Project with partner Draper Layers in the UK. This project is called Hazelsfield Farm and is located in Whimple – Devon. This new farm with 4 breeder sheds is controlled by the innovative Fortica® system. So that the 8000 birds on each house have the perfect environment to achieving a maximum number of hatching eggs and a high fertilization percentage.

Broiler Breeders in the southwest of England

In Devon, in the southwest of England, our dealer Draper Ventilation has delivered a new breeding farm for broilers. The farm consists of four barns, each measuring 115.8 metres by 13.7 metres and containing 9,000 hens and 900 cocks. Hotraco Agri designed the switch panel and delivered the ventilation chimneys which control the climate in these barns.

Modern boar barn in Vietnam

At the end of 2015, a new boar barn was built in Vietnam. The new barn is one of the most modern barns in South East Asia. Hotraco Agri worked with VDL Agrotech to design the climate and feed control systems.

Fortica successfully applied in Swedish free range chicken farm

The Swedish brothers Christer Berghem and Martin Andersson and their families started to raise Free Range chickens during the autumn of 2015. The Stora Lund farm has been in their family since the brother’s grandfather and father bought it back in the nineteen fifties. They used to produce pigs, but they stopped doing so about ten years ago because of the economic situation. This is when they decided to devote their time to arable farming and started to grow potatoes and wheat. They went to a meeting on organic farming last spring at which they were introduced to the idea of holding free range chickens. As they still had the old pig houses they decided to give this a go as the idea behind the concept was based on using existing buildings.

Feed automation for a pig barn in the United Kingdom

A pig barn in the United Kingdom has been fully automated to allow feed testing at the sty level. The barn has 24 feed silos and the feed is mixed and distributed to the various sties by two feed weighers.

New two-level poultry barn in Raalte

Friday 22 July was open day at the Kievitsbosch Family in Raalte to mark the new free-range poultry barn. This laying hen barn has two levels, with the lower level allowing access to the outdoors. The entire barn has space for 45,000 hens. Frilim fitted out the entire barn along with all the technical systems. Hotraco Agri developed the operating system in the barn and was present at the open day along with Frilim.

Sow barn with SmartFlow ventilation system in Bulgaria

Our Bulgarian dealer Agroconsult recently established a new operation for sows in Bulgaria. The operation consists of one gestation barn for 288 sows, four farrowing sections, each with 36 places, three nursing sections, each with 900 piglets and two sections each with 87 sows.

Large pig company completed in Belarus

A large pig company for 1,500 sows has recently been completed in Belarus. Hotraco Agri, along with its local partner, designed the system for ventilation, cooling, heating and dry feed control. The entire operation comprises an insemination unit, gestation barn, six farrowing sections, nine nursing sections, 16 barns for fattening pigs, a barn for boars, two breeding units and also a quarantine room.

Fortica in broiler house in North Ireland

In the middle of 2016, our Irish dealer delivered a broiler house for the Cowan family in North Ireland. This farm consists of two sheds 280 x 66 feet, each shed holds 28,500 broiler birds. The two poultry sheds are connected by store rooms. This farm is located In Carrickfergus, Bellahill road.

Modern, advanced broiler houses in Hungary

At the start of the year, our Hungarian dealer Poultry-Tech Ltd delivered broiler houses for McDonalds. These broiler houses are extremely modern and innovative. The owner of this company has used the latest technology to reduce the impact on the environment and to improve production and the well-being of the animals. This modern, innovative and advanced approach has led to this company becoming one of McDonalds' Flagship Farms.

Opening of Poultry Innovation Lab

Hotraco Agri took part in the development of a project that is unique in the Netherlands, the Poultry Innovation Lab. The project was initiated by the Poultry Expertise Centre and was carried out in collaboration with the business sector, the education sector and the government. The lab provides a practical learning environment for students and professionals alike. A practical study is taking place into the configuration of stables, climate control, food safety and sustainability. During the course of the study, the focus will lie upon innovative livestock housing concepts.

Fortica Free Flow in Canada

At the start of the year, a number of laying hen barns were delivered in Canada by our dealer Walbern Agri-Systems Ltd. Hotraco Agri has used the new Free Flow ventilation concept in these barns. Free Flow is a ventilation concept which has been specially developed for free-range barns. The ventilation in the barn is based on a negative and positive pressure in the barn. This ventilation concept is fully controlled by one switch panel for each barn with an integrated Fortica computer: Fortica®FreeFlow®.

Thomas® successfully implemented at Dutch pig farm

The Thomas® automation system for pig farming was introduced at EuroTier 2016 and has already been successfully implemented at a Dutch pig farm by our dealer E.T.B. van Heerdt. The Thomas® system guarantees perfect harmony between control computers and dry feed and ventilation systems. The system is linked to an app that allows the pig farmer to view and change any of the settings and operate all the control computers.

Automation in pig barns in South Africa

Another pig barn in South Africa has been automated with the Hotraco system. It concerns four barns with a total of eight compartments. Each compartment contains 1,100 piglets, weighing between 6 and 35 kg. The SIRIUS computer controls the ventilation, heating and extra cooling. The feed is registered via silo weighing. The computers are connected to the SMARTLINK-RM, which makes remote control possible. The SIRIUS computer can be controlled via a smartphone, tablet or PC using the Remote+ app. In this way, the staff are able to respond quickly to situations in the barns, no matter where they happen to be.

Hotraco Agri participating in study on ‘LED lighting for pigs’

Hotraco Agri is participating in a study at Wageningen University and Research about LED lighting in pig barns. The study is being conducted by Wageningen Livestock Research at the Swine Innovation Centre (VIC), Sterksel. This is the multifunctional research centre for modern, innovative and sustainable pig farming. Hotraco Agri is working on this study together with the groups DLV Consultancy, Rofianda, Wageningen Livestock Research. The study is looking at the effect of LED light on the well-being, productivity and behaviour of pigs. Hotraco Agri is participating with the new Thomas® Automation System for pig farming. Thomas® controls the LED lighting in the barn and records the lux levels. Thomas® also controls the climate here. The CO2, NH3 and RV levels are measures and recorded. The study is fully underway, see the photos here.

Poultry barn for education and research opened

On Tuesday, 13 June 2017, the new poultry barn was opened at the Aeres University of Applied Sciences in Dronten. This brand new laying-hen barn is the barn of the future, with a focus on research and education, and will be run entirely by students. This laying-hen barn was designed according to the Beter Leven Keurmerk [Better Living Certification] 3-star guidelines, and therefore meets the strictest requirements that Dierenbescherming [Animal Protection] sets for this certification. The barn has a covered outdoor area and is controlled by a Fortica management computer. In total, this research barn provides space for 1,000 laying hens.

New turkey house in Canada

A new turkey house in Ontario, Canada has been automated with the Fortica® system. This modern farm is going to house 30,000 chicks. The chicks will stay in this house for about 5-6 weeks. With the innovative Fortica® system the owner has control over all turkey house processes, such as climate, animal weighing, feed and water. The touchscreen Fortica® is connected to the network and can be operated from a smartphone and tablet via the user-friendly Fortica app. With the Fortica app you can check and change all the settings, from anywhere. This enables the user to respond adequately to acute changes in the turkey house.

Two new laying hen barns in England

Two new laying hen barns have been built in Hereford, England. These free-range barns are 20 metres wide and 97 metres long and each barn consists of two compartments with 12,000 hens per compartment. Our English dealer PW Maines created this installation with the innovative Fortica® automation system. The touch screen Fortica® computer is integrated into a Hotraco switch panel, which gives the poultry farmer control over the climate, the feed system, the lighting and the egg production. Fresh air enters through inlet vents at the side and the barn air is extracted through the ducts in the roof. Feed registration is done with silo weighing at the two 16-ton silos. Each barn has three egg belts that are controlled by the Fortica® system.

Broiler house in Belgium automated with Fortica®

A new broiler house in Belgium has been automated with the touch screen Fortica® system. This barn, 110 by 24 metres, is located in Wallonia, just outside Charleroi. The barn houses 58,000 chicks for a period of 6 weeks. The innovative Fortica® system, which is integrated into a switch panel, gives poultry farmers total control over their barn processes. Among other things, the system provides a perfect climate, good air distribution, LED lighting, feed weighing, water consumption registration and controls the winches for the feed and drink lines. The switch panel is also equipped with an extensive ACA-10N alarm system.

Laying hen breeding barns in South Korea

Two barns for breeding laying hens in South Korea have been equipped with Hotraco automation. The well-known ORION poultry system was installed by our local dealer. Each barn, 80 metres long by 16 metres wide, houses 200,000 animals. The ORION system regulates optimal ventilation in the barn. The air inlets, fans and curtains are perfectly attuned with each other and the ORION system uses silo weighing to regulate and record feed consumption in the barn.

Two new modern broiler houses

The official opening of two brand new broiler houses for the Boerma family was held on 21 July 2017. They are being used to house 46,000 slower-growing broiler chickens. These modern barns are provided with the latest layout and systems. Some features of the barn include daylight provision in the side facade with automatic black out curtain, pop holes in the side facade, and heat exchangers for each barn. Hotraco Agri designed switch panels with the Fortica® system to control all processes in the broiler houses, from climate control, ventilation and lighting to feed and water control. The heat exchanger is also completely integrated into the Fortica® system. The Fortica® touchscreen gives you quick, clear insight into every process, and making changes has never been easier. The Boerma family ran the first cycle in the new barn in May.

Broiler houses in England automated with Fortica® system

Our English dealer has automated two new broiler houses with the innovative Fortica® system. All the barn processes, including ventilation, lighting, animal weighing, feed and water registration, are controlled from a central switch panel. These processes can be adjusted quickly and easily with the Fortica system’s user-friendly touch screen. This gives poultry farmers a clear overview of their operational processes.

30 broiler houses in China

A large project in China was recently finished for 5 farms with 6 broiler houses each. Each barn houses 55,680 broiler chickens (to max 2.5 kg). The barn was designed with a cage batteries in 5 rows with 4 levels. Hotraco Agri designed switch panels with the Fortica® system to control all processes in the broiler houses from climate control, ventilation, lighting, animal weighing and feed and water control to manure removal. Poultry farmers can view and adjust these processes quickly and easily with the Fortica system’s user-friendly touch screen. This farm is also provided with the Fortlink®, which enables a secure connection with a PC, tablet or smartphone. The Fortlink® collects data from all the connected barns, displays it on a screen and forwards it to a connected PC or to the Fortica app via the internet. The user-friendly Fortica app enables poultry farmers to read off and control the Fortica system remotely using a smartphone or tablet.

Broiler farmer upgrades from Orion® to Fortica® system

This year broiler farmer Ramon Harmes of Klazienaveen in the province of Drenthe (NL) has upgraded from the ORION® system to the new touch screen Fortica® system. The broiler house systems were installed by poultry house automation specialist Kosse Staltechnieken, which the Harmes family has relied on for the past 25 years. The Harmes had four broiler houses, but they recently razed two to make room for two brand ones with the innovative new Fortica® system. The other two barns are still in use and have been converted to Fortica®. Two additional large broiler houses are currently being built. In total, the agricultural enterprise will have space to house 248,500 broilers, with the day-old chicks being held 6 to 8 weeks. The goal is transformation into a sustainable poultry farm. In keeping with this plan, electricity is generated by solar panels and the barns will be heated with energy produced by burning manure.

New laying hen barn in Scotland

A new laying hen barn has been built in the south of Scotland. This new free-range poultry house, measuring 80 x 15.24 metres, will house 16,000 hens. Here the innovative Fortica® system is integrated in a Hotraco switch panel.

Layer Farm in the UK

Last month the Sally layer farm in the UK opened his doors. The Campus at Sally Farm will be a place of learning for degree students and apprentices. With 4 identical 16.000 bird poultry houses on each development, it will be a venue for research on a commercial scale where comparative controlled trials can be performed. All houses are equipped with the innovative Fortica® system and the new MiteAlert. Fortica® provides poultry farmers with important information about the performance of their animals, such as an insight into the laying percentage and the number of eggs. With the MiteAlert® the farm manager can get and keep track of the size and development of a red mite population in the house, and determine a treatment moment on that basis. This Farm will be a facility for the UK poultry industry, a template for modern egg production and is the future of high poultry welfare.

Thomas® SmartFlow maintains optimal climate for fattening pigs

Two brand new pig fattening barns are currently under construction in Odiliapeel, a small village in the province of Brabant. The new buildings will meet the very latest requirements for animal welfare, environment and fire safety. One of the two barns, which will house 1728 fattening pigs and 2304 piglets, was recently completed. Our dealer Van Boxtel Elektro installed the system there.

No more worrying about my ventilation!

Pig farmer Louis Klomp is very positive about the Thomas® system in his barn. At the end of 2017 a major expansion was carried out at the Klomp pig holding in Moergestel (NL). Since the expansion the company has 1200 sows and about 6,000 weaners, and there is another barn in Heukelom with just under 6,000 fattening pigs. The Thomas® automation system in the new barn was installed by local dealer Wouters Klimaattechniek. This gives the pig farmer complete control over the climate and lighting within his company. ‘The system is the heart of the barn and easy to operate via the phone,’ Klomp says.

Broiler farms in China

Hotraco Agri automated broiler farms in the northern province of Jilin, China. Each farm consists of four cage barns, and each barn has six rows and four levels with about 85,000 broilers. The climate control is fully automated, using the Orion systems. These systems can be operated remotely from a smartphone, tablet or PC.

Pleasant temperatures in the rooms

The Thomas® climate system has been successfully installed in the family Duppenthaler’s 9-room pig farm in the municipality of Melchnau, in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. The ventilation system for approximately 850 fattening pigs was installed by the firm JENNI Lüftungen AG from Ruswil.

New organic laying hen house

Hotraco Agri recently put a new organic laying hen house in operation in Germany. The 12,000 hens housed there all have access to outdoor free range. Despite this free range access, Hotraco's automation system maintains an optimum climate in the house. In addition to the climate, animal and feed weighing, nest control and lighting are also automated and perfectly integrated with each other.

New broiler house in Canada

In August 2014, dealer CFM Système from Québec, Canada commissioned a new broiler house. It is a stable of 400 x 64 ft in total which houses 36,000 animals. All processes are controlled by the Orion-PB computer for broilers which is integrated in a control cabinet.

Breeder barn in Poland

At the beginning of June, our Polish dealer delivered a new breeder barn in Poland. The breeder barn is 150 metres long and 32 metres wide. The barn contains two rows of laying nests and the incubating eggs are collected in the middle.

Climate control without measuring fans

In 2013 Cor and Jannes van Limpt put their new pighouse for finishers into operation. The climate is controlled on the basis of pressure and temperature measurement.

About Hotraco Agri

Improving animal performance and optimising your business operations is much easier with the complete automation solutions from Hotraco Agri. Our core business is the regulation, control and monitoring of animal housing processes for the livestock farming sectors. From ventilation and climate control, feed and water control, animal weighing, lighting and egg counting to farm management.

Complete solutions for livestock farmers

24/7 personal service

Simplicity and ease of use

Engaged partner

Worldwide network

45 years of knowledge and innovation

News

24-06-2020

Prevent heat stress among your animals with excellent climate control!

With summer approaching, outdoor temperatures are also rising. This means it is now even more important for you, as a livestock farmer, to have your ventilation and cooling functioning optimally.

23-06-2020

Win-win situation with heat exchangers

Since heat exchangers were introduced into animal houses, several more application possibilities and advantages have been discovered.

Events

04 - 06 September 2020

CAHE, China 2020

China International Animal Husbandry Expo, known as CAHE around the world, held from May 18-20 but in different cities every year, is the largest livestock show in Asia! CAHE can be the most perfect platform for you to know about the Chinese livestock industry and start your business in China!

26 - 28 January 2021

IPPE 2021

The International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) continues to evolve and grow to meet the needs of its attendees and exhibitors.

09 - 25 March 2021

Avicola & Porcina Argentina

The largest business meeting expected by all professionals and colleagues in the industry to train, and learn about the latest trends and innovations of these two thriving sectors that will gather in this edition, more than 160 companies in Argentina and the world.

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