September 15, 2008

New Micro-Plus operation in Great Britain

Micro-Plus Konzentrate, German manufacturer and distributor of phytogenic feed additives, which are non-antibiotic growth promoters derived from plants, has opened a new operation in Great Britain, Micro-Plus (GB) Ltd.

The company's trials with 500 chickens showed that digestron^® increased chick weights by 5.2 percent, reduced ammonia by 9 percent and feed utilization improved by 1.2 percent.

Having 20 years of experience in the animal and pet food markets, Steve Ladbrook will be responsible for managing the business for the digestarom^® range of digestibility enhancers as well as the RevestArom^® and NeoSweet^® brands of flavors and sweeteners in GB and Ireland.

Since the EU ban on antibiotic growth promoters in 2006, the use of plant extracts and essential oils as alternatives has risen from an EU average of 55 percent in 2005 to 70 percent in poultry feeds and 80 percent in pig feeds.  In non-EU countries the use of such feed additives has increased to 61 percent in poultry and 24 percent in pigs.