Sen Pilic, one of the market leaders in the Turkish poultry industry, was among a group of producers to visit Cobb-Vantress in Arkansas, USA.

They bought their first flock of Cobb parent stock earlier this year and together with two other Turkish customers — HasTavuk and Bu Pilic — they received an update on Cobb broiler performance at Cobb-Vantress headquarters in Siloam Springs. 

“The customers were particularly interested in information about the high yield of Cobb 500 broilers and at a Tyson Foods processing plant they saw how to maximize this yield,” said Wout van Wolfswinkel, parent stock sales manager of Cobb Europe.

Another part of the program centered on biosecurity and how to minimize risk of salmonella contamination. The group visited the Cobb Vantress feed mill in Siloam Springs, Arkansas to witness the company’s strict biosecurity rules in practice.

“It was a very interesting visit”, said Ugur Kula, managing partner of Bu Pilic. “We received valuable information and we can now put these new ideas into practice in our Turkish market”.  Müjdat Sezer, chairman of Has Tavuk, said their company is planning to open a new processing plant next year and the Tyson plant visit was particularly valuable for them. 

“These customers were very enthusiastic after this visit and expect a bright future for Cobb in Turkey,” added Wout van Wolfswinkel.  “To continue our relationship with Sen Pilic, their vice-general manager Mehmet Lyneci confirmed a structural partnership for more Cobb business next year.”

Earlier this year Cobb Europe bought a hatchery in the Bandirma area of Turkey, and by the end of 2012 Cobb parent stock will be produced locally and supplied direct into the market.
 

The group at the Cobb-Vantress headquarters; from left Erol Can, Wout van Wolfswinkel, Müjdat Sezer, Savas Ceylanli, Pete Sbanotto, Duygu Ergun, John Hardiman, Onur Ozkul, Sahin Aydemir, Ugur Kula and Mehmet Lyneci