Earlier this year, Evonik separated its amino acids and specialties business into two different units following separate operating and business models, with the specialties business focusing specifically on monogastrics (poultry and swine) and ruminants. The move has already resulted in innovative new products and services becoming available for these sectors, aiming to address key animal health, sustainability and profitability issues facing producers.
In today’s Industry Perspectives, Global Head of Monogastric business Tobias Denz discusses with Feedinfo what the focus on monogastrics will mean, and how the business is working to meet customer needs. In particular, he and Dilan Deniz, Global Product Manager ScreenFloX® and Regional Business Director of EMEA, explain how the new ScreenFloX® 2.0 digital tool will allow poultry producers to monitor the presence of the most important gut pathogens in their flocks, allowing quick and effective preventive action.
Pedro Castelo, Head of Global Strategic Marketing Monogastrics, joins the discussion to explain more about the company’s Gut Health Concept (GHC) approach, which offers innovative and holistic solutions that aim to improve the gut health of monogastrics. He also talks about the focus on developing disruptive innovations.
While improving monogastric gut health is a global issue, Feedinfo also speaks to Pedro about Evonik’s awareness that different geographies have varied challenges and customer requirements. The new business’ tailored approach to the sector will allow much greater regional focus, and for it to be more flexible, efficient and proactive, he says.
[Feedinfo] Earlier this year, Evonik separated its amino acids and specialties businesses into two different operating models. Within the specialties business, the focus of the monogastric area is on the poultry and swine industries. Can you tell us more about what you are offering these sectors as part of this change, and why this is important?
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Tobias Denz |
[Tobias Denz] The decision was partly down to our motivation to increase our customer focus in each of these areas to ensure competitiveness, and to reduce time to market. The focus of the monogastric area within our specialties business is on the poultry and swine industries, which demand innovative, regionally adapted technologies to achieve production standards that meet modern consumer demands. |
For both poultry and swine, Evonik has, in recent years, developed and launched new technologies — in the form of products and digital services — that together offer differentiated and value-added solutions to help our customers meet their needs. These include our Gut Health Concept, functional feed additives like Ecobiol® Fizz, and our digital pathogen monitoring service ScreenFloX®.
[Feedinfo] It has been a turbulent and difficult time for many poultry and swine producers across the globe. What are the biggest challenges facing your customers just now, and what are those challenges likely to be going forward?
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Pedro Castelo |
[Pedro Castelo] Like many industries, our customers have been buffeted by the events of recent years, from pandemic-related supply chain issues to the energy crisis and, more recently, challenging macroeconomic conditions. As a result, our customers are more focused than ever on efficiency, controlling costs, and boosting animal performance. These are just some of the reasons why we at Evonik Animal Nutrition need to be nimble, orientate our operations to the future, and adapt our product portfolio, particularly within our specialties business. |
We also see that customers in different regions have different priorities. For instance, in Europe, alternatives to antibiotics as growth promoters are important for the poultry and swine industries. In addition, sustainability is a growing topic in some regions, as well as food safety and animal health. This is why we’re committed to helping our customers address their market’s individual challenges and needs in an efficient and profitable way.
[Feedinfo] As a business, you have invested a significant amount in the area of Gut Health Solutions and are now offering customers a solution through Evonik’s Gut Health Concept (GHC). Can you explain more about this - what does the GHC approach include, and what does it offer monogastric producers?
[Tobias Denz] Evonik’s deep understanding and technical knowledge of the animal nutrition and health areas, global markets, and customers, has allowed us to take the lead in developing and delivering unique products that can be differentiated from others available on the market. They include feed additives and nutritional solutions that are designed to support gut health and improve animal performance.
Our Gut Health Concept (GHC) approach offers holistic solutions that aim to improve the gut health of monogastric animals. Focusing on efficiency and profitability, Evonik’s GHC is a systemic approach that includes not only our expertise and the dedicated gut health products, such as Ecobiol®, GutCare®, GutPlus®, Fecinor®, and PhytriCare® IM, but also performance products like GuanAMINO® and our state-of-the-art pathogen monitoring tool, ScreenFloX®.
This concept enables Evonik’s customers to precisely monitor, customize and adjust their gut health programs according to their challenges, ensuring boosted efficiency and increased profitability.
As part of our GHC, we have made significant investments to rapidly develop disruptive solutions for the market. As mentioned in a recent interview with Feedinfo by our Vice President and Head of the Specialty Nutrition product line, Dr. Arne Hoppe, three of these products — ScreenFloX® 2.0, Ecobiol® Fizz, and PhytriCare® IM — have been launched in recent months. The latter is also an example of our shift towards industry partnerships in our push for innovation.
[Feedinfo] As part of your GHC approach, you offer what you are calling a state-of-the-art digital pathogen monitoring tool, ScreenFloX®. Can you tell us more about this, what it does, and the advantages it offers poultry producers? How does a producer start using this tool, and what changes have you seen as a result of its use so far?
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Dilan Deniz |
[Dilan Deniz] ScreenFloX® is a digital pathogen monitoring tool that allows poultry producers to monitor the presence of the most important gut pathogens in their flocks in real time, allowing quick and effective preventive action. Considering that gut health diseases are estimated to cost the global poultry industry 12bn euros each year¹, ScreenFloX® is a game changer for flock health monitoring in the industry. |
This is an innovative tool allowing effective monitoring of four pathogens: Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella enterica, Eimeria spp. (E. acervulina, E. maxima and E. tenella) and Clostridium perfringens. Following a successful pilot project, we are currently rolling this out in Germany, the UK, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Indonesia and Thailand.
It works through a unique and easy-to-use SMART qPCR-based testing system. Producers collect fecal samples in the barn and send them to the lab for processing, with results delivered in 24-48 hours. This non-invasive analysis, backed by a world-leading global data set, allows our customers to better control pathogens in poultry production and take more appropriate countermeasures, reduce unnecessary treatment and control costs. This gives customers the ability to evaluate and balance functional feed additives for optimal gut health, help support antibiotic free production, and reduce their ecological footprint.
ScreenFloX® has been well-received by poultry producers. The system is robust and straightforward to use, and our customers have been able to take necessary action as a result. The system is also scalable, allowing producers to monitor multiple houses and farms at once, providing a comprehensive view of the health of their entire operation.
[Feedinfo] As a global business, you cover many geographies, each with varied challenges and customer requirements. Is it possible to develop an approach or technology such as GHC and ScreenFloX® which is applicable and useable across all of these geographies? Can you talk through how you have developed these solutions with such variation in mind?
[Pedro Castelo] Evonik is taking advantage of its global presence and understanding of local markets by empowering its regional teams to better align our product portfolio with customer needs. As mentioned earlier, we continue to seek out strategic partnerships with organisations and customers to address requirements even more precisely.
More specifically, as part of the direction of our specialties business, we aim to take a more tailored approach to the regional poultry and swine sectors. Different regions are composed of different realities, different industries, and different customer needs. A hot topic or a specific pain point for a customer in Europe, for instance, doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing in Asia. With that in mind, we are confident that this flexibility and regional empowerment will make us more efficient and responsive to our customers.
At the same time, our product portfolio as a whole is designed to meet different regional challenges. Our gut health solutions can help to improve gut health and nutrient absorption, reduce the need for antibiotics and improve animal welfare. Taken together, our specialty business helps our customers — wherever they are located — improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness, while improving animal health and welfare and reducing the ecological footprint of animal farming.
[Feedinfo] What do you see as an overall result of this new approach, and what are the next steps in development for your Gut Health Concept innovation? What can producers expect to see next from Evonik’s specialties business?
[Tobias Denz] We see exciting opportunities for our specialties business. We believe that our approach will help us better meet the needs of our customers in the poultry and swine industries.
Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on rapid innovation and product development, while also continuing to work closely with customers in different regions to understand their specific needs and develop tailored solutions to meet them. Our specialty business is likely to seek more collaborations, and we remain committed to helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals.
As a global company, we are acutely aware of the mega trends that will drive our industry in the future. Overall, our aim is to be a trusted partner to our customers in the monogastric sector, providing innovative solutions that help to meet their challenges and achieve their goals. Our customers can be confident and excited about the direction of our specialties business.
References:
¹ De Gussem, M. (2010). Macroscopic scoring system for bacterial enteritis in broiler chickens and turkeys. In WVPA Meeting 01/04/2010. Merelbeke, Belgium
and
Blake, D. P., Knox, J., Dehaeck, B. et al. Re-calculating the cost of coccidiosis in chickens. Vet Res51, 115 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-020-00837-2
Published in association with Evonik
