Path to European market leadership

Sustainable vision of The Schippers Group a crucial growth accelerator Path to European market leadership

With hygiene and health as its main drivers, The Schippers Group is steadily gaining ground globally. The company's philosophy is increasingly being heard worldwide. Meanwhile, European market leadership - a key ambition - comes ever closer. The secret: investing in knowledge development and innovation.

Export is a prominent lifeline for The Schippers Group, as it is for the entire Dutch agricultural sector. The Dutch Central Statistical Office (CBS) reported earlier this year that in 2020, which we will all remember as the year of COVID-19, the sector broke all records and exported EUR 95.6 billion, of which more than EUR 68 billion of domestic origin. The so-called re-export, i.e. the resale of imported products, amounted to more than EUR 27 billion. Exports generated an estimated EUR 41.9 billion in export earnings for the Dutch economy. Including agriculture-related goods, the export value amounted to EUR 105.4 billion and EUR 46.1 billion in export earnings. In a year that saw total goods exports decline by about 7 percent, agricultural exports stood firm.

Europe is by far the largest market for Dutch agriculture. In 2020, 26 percent of agricultural exports, EUR 24.6 billion, went to Germany. That's a 4 percent increase compared to 2019 (EUR 23.6 billion or 25 percent). Belgium, the United Kingdom and France are other key export destinations. Exports to all these markets dropped by 2 percent (Belgium, France) to 3 percent (United Kingdom). Overall, 67 percent is sold on the EU market

(excluding the United Kingdom). A major buyer of pork and other products is China. Exports to this country climbed from sixth to fifth place in the ranking of largest agricultural export destinations with a share of 4 percent (to EUR 3.8 billion).

Target Europe continues to be a major target for The Schippers Group in 2021. For the company, 1996 (then still called MS Schippers) can go into the books as the year it actually started operating outside the Netherlands and Belgium. The prognoses were good at the time: Having a greater sales market resulted directly in cost price reduction, which is crucial to remain a strong player in terms of knowledge and quality, as well as price. New subsidiaries were set up, sales offices opened their doors well beyond European shores, and the newly established export department very soon needed more workplaces and office space.

A crucial growth accelerator was the new vision that the company developed in the first years of this century, partly influenced by the issues in the domestic market concerning intensive livestock farming. No longer was the starting point to fight the symptoms, it was now to prevent disease. Improving health and hygiene in livestock housing became the main spearhead. This principle would serve as the basis for the development of new services and products. The company focused more and more on acquiring high-quality knowledge, seeking collaboration with knowledge institutes and entering into strategic partnerships. Together with partners, new paths were paved on experimental farms. Open innovation models began emerging as the gateway to developing more and more high-quality knowledge - a key to gaining an even stronger foothold in domestic as well as foreign markets.

Unravel With the new vision, The Schippers Group was able to steadily unravel itself from the ropes of the competitive price-fighter

“We want to eliminate the use of antibiotics in livestock farming worldwide”

YOUR COW COMFORT SPECIALIST

agricow goo.indd 1  For over 25 years our FOCUS on cow welfare dairy housing products resulted in increased milk production & whilst improving labour efficiency.  It’s the right farm management the key to increase farm profitability. This means investing in barn solutions with the aim of assuring well-being of dairy herd, of farmers and workers in order to create a TOTAL COMFORT ENVIRONMENT

SYSTEM.  Mattresses, stall mats and dairy flooring, cow brushes, fans, scrapers, steel facilities prefabricated, hoof-trimming, water trough, calves shelters… 100 % in-house production, using high-tech and quality material, with a particular attention to green and in compliance with

CE Certifications and patents to combine.

COMFORT, SUBSTAINABILITY AND PROFITABILITY

AGRICOW is the only world-wide company manufacturing cow brushes of 4 different models.

HAPPY AND HEALTHY COWS MAKE HAPPY FARMERS

www.agricow.com

18-01-21 08:35

Specially developed for milk feeders, teat buckets or over roughage Lambs continue feeding Maintains healthy airways

Keep your lamb active with BronchActive!

Lambs keep on drinking with the new BronchActive watersoluble powder! It contains essential oils for ensuring a better appetite as well as healthy airways. This watersoluble version has been specially developed for milk feeders and teat buckets, and can also be sprinkled over roughage. Just one product for every application! As soon as the lambs are ready to feed on the concentrate, As soon as the lambs are ready to feed on the concentrate, a little BronchActive is sprinkled over the pellets. Lambs love the taste and are happy to enjoy the concentrate. BronchActive is a powerful appetite stimulant, ensuring that lambs consume the ideal amount of concentrate. This helps reduce the risk of a weaning dip!

VITALstyle BronchActive is available at many locations including: VITALstyle formerly ECOstyle

ANIMAL

market for products, enabling the company to profile itself as a supplier of high added value. The message comes across well in the Netherlands, but also abroad. Activities began expanding rapidly on a global scale – and still are today. Outside the Netherlands, there are now sales offices in Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Russia, England, Canada, the Philippines and Brazil. In addition, The Schippers Group works with agents, distributors, sellers and has various joint ventures set up. Today the company boasts twelve offices worldwide, is represented in seventy countries and has a catalogue containing more than 14,000 products.

This is not including the integral concepts such as sustainable livestock housing (HyCare), which is achieving remarkably good results in pig farming as well as with dairy cattle and broilers. The method can be applied in existing regular pig houses and is based on five main pillars: pore-free floors and walls, optimum cleaning and disinfection, preventive pest control, clean and germ-free drinking water, and optimum care. HyCare places health and animal welfare first and provides substantial improvements in efficiency. By making sure the pigs are permanently kept in a germ-free environment, farmers can attain a consistently high level of animal health and technical results. HyCare farms are guided and supported in this by specialist HyCare coaches.

Ambition In a way, the programme serves as a model for the ambition that The Schippers Group has developed over the years and is implementing in steps: first in the home market, then abroad. “We want to eliminate the use of antibiotics in livestock farming worldwide”, director Mark Schippers said confidently to a regional Brabant newspaper in 2016. It is an ambitious goal, which is aptly reflected in the new head office – including information and innovation centre. With ‘the world’ as its ultimate destination, The Schippers Group has set its sights more emphatically than ever on Europe in the coming period, with the aim of becoming European market leader in a few years. So farmers and first farm the land better here, on a sustainable foundation. And with ‘Let’s beat AMR with HyCare!’.