November 14, 2019

Dr. Eckel celebrates anniversary in Germany with customers and partners

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Dr. Eckel Animal Nutrition, an industry pioneer and expert in innovative feed additives, hosted customers, partners, specialists, experts and scientists at this year's International Ecknowlogy^® Conference on November 4-5.

More than 70 international participants from the science, agriculture, feed and food production sectors attended the "Your future with Dr. Eckel: Profitable, sustainable, animal welfare" trade conference at the Dorint Parkhotel Bad Neuenahr in Germany. They concluded that modern animal nutrition must find a balance between animal welfare and profitability in order to be applicable to the future. The significance of the occasion did not take second place to the technical lectures, discussions and networking - dinner was followed by an evening programme.

Speakers and participants addressed major issues in talks and panel discussions.

Prof. Johanna Fink-Gremmels, chair of veterinary pharmacology and toxicology at Utrecht University, made the role of nutrition in animal health and welfare particularly clear in her talk, stating that, besides contributing significantly to stable health, proper nutrition is also a key factor for better performance, lower medical costs and consequently better returns.

Dutch company New Generation Nutrition is all about nutrition. In her talk, CEO Marian Peters demonstrated how important insects could be to nutrition, both animal and human, in the future.

Dr. Gereon Schulze Althoff, head of quality management and veterinary services at Tönnies, provided insights into the role of producers, in particular the responsibility and potential of the various stakeholders in the value chain. A presentation by Dr. Francesca Blasco, vice president of product and innovation, outlined how to achieve profitable and animal-friendly production. The conference culminated in a panel discussion, including the speakers and audience as well as Dutch animal nutrition specialist Aart J. Mul, on how the industry can find a balance between animal welfare and profitability.

"It was a great mix of high-calibre expert talks, inspiring debates and plenty of opportunity for discussions with international industry peers," said Bernhard große Austing from Austing Mischfutterwerk GmbH & Co. KG.

Austing added: "Animal welfare is no trivial matter. Rather, as amply demonstrated at this conference, it is a necessity. Only healthy animals can provide healthy food. Because ultimately, this is what the consumer wants and what our world needs in order to ensure sufficient food supplies in the future."

In his keynote address the previous evening, Matthias Lindenberger, head of consulting at Ogilvy Germany, had already referred to changes in consumer behaviour observed worldwide and their significance for B2B business. His talk was the prelude to an evening with customers, partners and long-term associates in celebration of Dr. Eckel's 25th anniversary.

Dr. Eckel founder and CEO Dr. Antje Eckel has expressed her gratitude for all that has been achieved and promised many more innovations.

"25 years of Dr. Eckel – that's 25 years of innovation, growth and success for and with our customers. We are proud to be able to celebrate this today, a privilege for which we are very grateful. The world has changed fundamentally in recent years," she said.

"The momentum of the climate debate, the debate on the production of animal protein and the matter of animal welfare have transformed the issue of animal nutrition into an economic and political hot potato. Our vision is to integrate animal welfare, economic viability and food quality in a novel manner. We subscribe to a holistic approach that goes way beyond today, for the sake of our future."

- Dr. Eckel