38 ROTECNA WORLD

ROTECNAWORLD NUMBER THIRTY EIGHT 2019

SUMMARY TECHNOLOGY

PHYSICOCHEMICAL REACTOR, PHASE II OF TECNAPUR PIG SLURRY TREATMENT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY

TRANSPARENT NI-2, THE COVERS FOR THE NEWBORN PIGLETS AND SIX-S, THE NEW DISPENSER FROM ROTECNA RANGE ROTECNANEWS

MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT PIGPRODUCTION

EXPORTS IN IRELAND, THE SECTOR SUPPORT IN THE COUNTRY

LETTER FROMTHEEDITOR

SOMETHINGABOUT

OLD TOWN OF GIRONA

SCAN ME WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE

ROTECNA

Gener Romeu Rotecna's President ROTECNA WORLD 38 MARCH 2019

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Among the novelties of 2019, in Spain, the implementation of management plans on the treatment of droppings stands out, with the aim of increasing the value of slurry as an organic and sustainable fertiliser. For more than two years now, from Rotecna, always attentive to the needs of the industry, we created the TecnaPur brand, focused on providing solutions to extract slurry solids without emissions. In this edition, we present the phase II of this system, which we are sure will be as well received as the previous products of this line since this new product is much more efficient both in the cost of investment and in treatment and occupation of cubic meters.

EDITION: ROTECNA, S.A.- POL. IND. NAU-3, 25310 AGRAMUNT (LLEIDA) SPAIN DIRECTOR: GENER ROMEU EDITOR: NOELIA BURGOS MIREIA DE LA VEGA IMAGES EDITION: MONTSE GUERRERO TRADUCTION: SAM SMITH PRINT: IMPRENTA BARNOLA L-41-2007

DIGITAL VERSION /issuu.com/rotecnapress Rotecna's World's editors accept no liability for contributor's opinion.

On the other hand, in the swine industry, this year has been marked by the fear of the entry of African swine fever (ASF) in the country. Recently a new outbreak was detected in Belgium, only 2.6 kilometres from France, which has led to the launching of “a health vacuum” in a strip of the border between the two countries. Stopping the spreading has not improved in China either, an area in which the containment measures have not been sufficient to control the spread of this pathology.

The swine industry is paying attention to the evolution of the markets but is still committed to endow its farms with the latest in swine equipment, to be increasingly competitive, sustainable and acquire those products that allow it to be more efficient and get the most out of their farms. In short, the only thing for sure is that we have a year ahead of us in which we are going to put all our effort into facilitating the farmers’ day to day and with our expertise, help them improve their productivity and profitability.

Gener Romeu

ROTECNANEWS

MAINTENANCE

DEPARTMENT PROFILE: · Year the department was created: 2015 · Number of employees: 6

The maintenance department ensures that our facilities are kept clean and that everything works correctly. The quick and efficient response to any incident workers may have results in any problems of day to day operating being solved in the fastest way possible to ensure production is uninterrupted.

What do we do?

Jordi Vallverdú, Joan Baró, David Farragut, Javier de la Fuente, César Fernández and Ramon Fonoll, the team of maintenance. Foto: RotecnaPress.

Initially, maintenance tasks were done by an external company. It was in 2015 when it was decided to create a team that can deal with all the issues that could come up in Rotecna.

SOMETHINGABOUT...

For maintenance workers, every day is unpredictable and different. Two machines might break down at the same time, robots get deprogrammed or they might have to help technicians in the development of a new project.

The maintenance team is currently involved in the planning and purchase of the machines that will be in the

OLD T THIS HISTORICAL CITY ALLOWS ONE TO ADMIRE MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS OF HISTORY THROUGH ITS STREETS, MONUMENTS, SQUARES AND BUILDINGS.

Colourful houses next to the Onyar river and bridge built by the Eiffel house, in the background we can see the bell tower of the Cathedral.

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The Old Quarter is perhaps the most remarkable place in the city. It is located next to the river Onyar, which crosses the city, and is where we can find the famous set of buildings painted in a range of yellow and other colours that are reflected by the water in the river. Girona offers an architectural legacy that blends the brushstrokes of the Baroque monumentality of the Cathedral’s steps and the climb of San Domènec, with the elegant sobriety of Romanesque buildings such as the old monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants or the Arab Baths.

ROTECNANEWS new warehouse of the company, studying which are the best options for the functionality of Rotecna.

There is no fixed routine, even if there is no need to repair something, they busy themselves organising their workshop, they fine-tune the latest stock-count, or they take care of something or other in the warehouse.

Over time they have managed to catalogue and store in one place more than 90% of the spare parts.

Thanks, in part to their work, Rotecna has achieved the Quality Certificate ISO 9001, which controls and improves performance leading us towards efficiency and excellence in our products.

A key piece The maintenance team works closely with other departments, being a pivotal element to Rotecna working correctly as a whole.

Above all, there is a lot of back and forth with the production office, jointly making decisions on how to stop a machine or any other matters.

Communication is very fast, almost immediate and problems can be solved almost instantly. Over time, a warehouse has been created where they have a stock of pieces that allow

them to act immediately when there is a problem. They also have a history of the breakdowns, where they can see which machines are the ones that give more problems. This workflow allows them to make decisions about the purchase of new parts or devices and try to find the one that is best for the performance of Rotecna.

How do we work?

In the beginning, the maintenance team created an Excel document that everyone could modify and present the problems they had; because of this, they had a specific order in the work they had to do. But, over time the team improved their operation by creating a database where everyone who needed the services of the maintenance team can generate a request, specifying the date, incidence and degree of urgency of the problem.

Thanks to this, the maintenance team can keep control of the incidents that happen in the company. Any tasks that are logged day by day are managed by the head of the department which then distributes the work to each maintenance worker according to their speciality.

The maintenance section has a good relationship with the rest of the

Joan Baró, head of maintenance. Foto: RotecnaPress. departments, communication is speedy, and problems can be solved almost instantly.

Joan Baró, head of maintenance With extensive experience in maintenance work for companies, Joan Baró started to work at Rotecna on January 2014, being willing to head the maintenance of the facilities at

Rotecna. His desire and drive for excellence in his work led him to create the organisational chart of the maintenance department from scratch.

What he enjoys most is to efficiently solve any problems that may arise and create a good working environment to ensure the perfect day to day running of the team

TOWN OF GIRONA A walk through the Old Quarter of Girona is an authentic lesson in history and culture, and its narrow streets are a fascinating journey through the different civilisations that successively occupied it.

The Cathedral A constant reference of the profile of the city is the Cathedral, with the widest Gothic nave in Europe, rises next to one of the unique urban spaces, El Callo, the old Jewish quarter where an infinite labyrinth of alleys transports us back to the medieval times.

The Cathedral is dedicated to Santa María and is the fruit of several eras and styles of construction.

The building, which rises above the neighbouring buildings, is one of the most representative symbols of the city. It was built between the eleventh and eighteenth centuries and is built from a set of walls and spaces of different styles, through the Romanesque, Gothic and

Baroque, which characterises the facade and the impressive, endless 90 steps staircase. The unique part of the cathedral is the excellent Gothic nave that, 23 meters wide, is the broadest gothic space in the world.

The Jewish Quarter In the history of cities, there are often influences and traces that have marked the present urban development. In the city of Girona, one of these footprints was caused by the stay of a Jewish community, established for almost six hundred years.

The Jewish Callus, formed by a labyrinth of narrow alleys and courtyards, through which we can get lost and transported to the middle of the Medieval Times, is one of the most highly preserved Jewish neighbourhoods in the world and an evident sign of the importance Jewish culture had in the city. Also, among its alleys is the Museum of Jewish History of Girona. Inside we

can admire the tombstones of the Jewish cemetery of Girona and essential collections of considerable historical and artistic value.

Girona Flower Festival Girona’s Time for Flowers “Girona Tiempo de Flores” is a unique opportunity to enjoy the city differently, discover places that are usually closed off to the public, to enjoy its decorated streets and breathe in the essence of this city.

The friendly language of the flowers and the original floral arrangements carried out by hundreds of participants transforms the city into a subtle combination of aromas, textures and colours. The monuments, the houses and their inner courtyards, the streets, gardens and natural landscapes emerge covered with the elegance of a surprising variety in vegetation. The city multiplies its beauty and capacity for seduction during this festival, the flower contest held in spring.

Steps of the Cathedral decorated to during the Girona Flower Festival.

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TECHNOLOGY PATENTED

PHYSOCHEMICAL REACTOR PHASE II OF TECNAPUR AN OPTIMAL AND ECONOMICAL SOLUTION TO EXTRACT THE SUSPENDED SOLIDS FROM THE SLURRY WITHOUT EMISSIONS.

Tecnapur designed a revolutionary coagulation-flocculation physicochemical treatment. A second phase of separation (after a mechanical filtration) that guarantees the extraction of almost every solid in suspension of the slurries, avoiding emissions and other greenhouse gases (GHG).

WHICH ARE THE BENEFITS? Phase I of Tecnapur, a mechanical filtration, extracts up to 40% of the solids of the slurry. However, in the liquid part there are still solids particles in suspension, most of which are smaller than 50 microns, which are impossible to separate mechanically. With the physicochemical treatment (phase II) of Tecnapur we manage to extract them, obtaining a reduction of up to 75% of the nitrogen and a 95% of the phosphorus of the liquid part compared to the initial slurry, which makes it ideal for fertigation, without solids in suspension and improved N-P-K balance.

The system performs the separation in acid PH, which allows to maintain nitrogen in the form if ammonium ion, preventing the waste on fertilizer and atmospheric pollution by gaseous ammonia. All this with a reduced use of space, chemical products and a low energy consumption.

This bowl is where the pig waste is treated in a physicochemical way.

PHASE I

HOW DOES IT WORKS? The physicochemical treatment system of Tecnapur us carried out in a reactor installed after the mechanical separator, it has a first coagulation chamber with fast stirring in which the

PHASE II ACIDIFICATION COAGULATION

CHEMICALS PREPARATION CHAMBERS

SLOWDOWN

FLOCCULATION

SEPARATION

This graph shows all the system (phase I and phase II) of Tecnapur.

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separated liquid enters to be acidified and where the chemical coagulants are added. In a second chamber, which improves the aggregation and compactation of the solids, finally the filter sieve separates the flocculated solid.

Liquid phase applications

Solid phase applications

Fertigation Biological purification Membrane filtration Drying

Composting Fertilization

TECHNOLOGY PATENTED

TRANSPARENT NI-2 OFFERS OPTIMAL VISIBILITY TO FACILITATE PIGLET INSPECTION IN ITS EFFORTS TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE FARMERS’ PROFITABILITY, ROTECNA LAUNCHES A NEW MODEL OF ITS TWO TYPES OF NI-2, THE COVERS DESIGNED TO PROTECT NEWBORN PIGLETS.

The new transparent design allows perfect visibility of the interior of the hog pen and facilitates the control of piglets during their first days of life, without having to access the interior and open the lid manually, which reduces the likelihood of crosscontamination between maternity pens through the feet.

The environmental conditions required by newborn piglets, in increasingly larger litters and, therefore, with a lower average weight, are entirely different from those needed by sows, especially in the first days of life. For this reason, one of the main challenges we have in maternity pens is to reduce the piglets’ temperature loss as much as possible

without affecting the welfare of the sows, which is why the use of pens for piglets, such as Rotecna’s pen, during the maternity phase, has increased significantly.

Rotecna pays particular attention to the demands of the new challenges faced by farmers, who must be increasingly efficient and sustainable while maintaining their commitment to the environment and animal welfare. To achieve this, they must use the best swine production resources available.

In this line, Rotecna with the aim of improving the quality of work of farmers promotes the constant evolution of its products.

SIX-S

PRECISION DOSER WITH CLUTCH WITH A MINIMUM BELOW 100G MODELS

SIX-S 6L SIX-S 10L

ROTECNA EXPANDS ITS RANGE OF DISPENSERS WITH THE SIX-S, A CENTRALLY FILLED DISPENSER FEATURING A MEZZALUNA OPENING SYSTEM WITH CLUTCH FOR FEEDING ANIMALS ON A RESTRICTED BASIS, WITH ONE OR TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF FEED.

GREAT PRECISION

CHARACTERISTICS

The clutch system, which allows it to be disconnected individually from the discharge line, a minimum setting below 100 g, the high accuracy of the full volume loaded and its robustness and ease of adjustment make it the ideal option to dose the sows during maternity. With two measures of a maximum capacity of 6 and 10 litres, the SIX-S offers the farmer a high precision regulation that optimises rationed feeding.

• Transparent body.

• An opening system with a very wide chopper.

• Regulation platform with an internal channel of minimum capacity reduction.

• Upper intake system.

• Clutch mechanism to disconnect from the opening system quickly and easily.

• Closed phase with the possibility of automation for multiphase systems.

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GLOBALPIG

SHANE MCAULIFFE:

“SOW DELIVERIES WITH FREE FARROWING ARE THE FUTURE OF THE SWINE SECTOR” A NEW SYSTEM With a production of more than 50,000 sows per year, this Irish breeding farm has 2,000 mothers spread over four facilities.

Up to three generations of the McAuliffe family have been involved in the pig breeding business. It all started with Shane’s grandfather, Jack, in the 1960s, before his father Mike took over the company.

The great passion for the swine industry and the desire to excel led them, in 2009, to market their products under the name of Truly Irish Country Foods, company of which Mike is currently the executive director.

To know a little more about the experience of this breeding farm in different fields of livestock activity, we spoke with Shane, the successor of McAuliffe family.

Focusing on your experience in freedom farrowing, why did you start with this type of system?

As we are part of the Truly Irish brand, we have a direct link with consumers, and we have realised that they tend to increase their pork consumption steadily. Recently, Denmark has introduced legislation on freedom farrowing for all new breeding farms. It is clear that this system is the future, and I believe that there will be universal laws for the entire European Union.

What are the benefits that you would highlight from its use?

The sows are in better shape, and they milk better.

That is, they are more physically active and consume much more food, which in turn increases the intake of piglets and leads to higher weights at weaning.

What are the main differences between managing a standard delivery and free delivery?

A system of freedom farrowing requires more work since piglets have a larger area to run around in when it is necessary to gather them for vaccination.

A larger area also means that to heat and ventilate the space has a higher cost.

What Rotecna products do you have installed on your farms?

We have installed several Rotecna products: slats, heating plates and Ni-2.

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Shane McAuliffe, the heir of McAuliffe Pig Farms. Foto: McAuliffe Farms.

What biosecurity measures do you implement to reduce the risk of diseases?

Our farms are “high health” units, and we only vaccinate our pigs against PCV2, which means strict biosafety criteria. Visitors who have been in contact with other pigs for at least 48 hours before entry are not allowed to enter, all visitors must shower and change with the clothes we provide. We have a very detailed protocol of biosecurity measures, which covers the security of the place, the provisions of food and equipment, the vehicles, the personnel, the visitors and the routine hygiene of the farm.

Finally, what impact do you think Brexit can have on the Irish livestock industry?

Brexit is probably our biggest concern, as Ireland exports more pork to the United Kingdom than any other country. Also, every week 6,000 pigs cross the Northern Ireland border; if a “hard” border is imposed that stops our activities, then we will have no place within the Republic for the pigs to be slaughtered.

What challenges does the Irish pork industry face and what strategy does your company have to deal with them?

The current price crisis, which has happened in the last 12 months, has caused many farmers to lose their farms. Since there are now just over 200 farms in Ireland, our voice is small and difficult to hear. African swine fever is also a significant concern; however, it is up to the Food and Agriculture department to ensure that the island’s strict biosecurity is kept at our entry points. At Truly Irish we are continually trying to add value to pork: for example, we participate in the FP7 ThriveRite project, which consists of feeding pigs with a seaweed extract. This allowed us to eliminate antibiotics, increase antioxidants in pork and increase the price.

Freedom farrowing with Rotecna products.

Foto: McAuliffe Pig Farms

PIGPRODUCTIONIN...

EXPORTS IN IRELAND, THE SECTOR SUPPORT IN THE COUNTRY Source: IFA / TEAGASC

The value of Irish pork exports grew 14% during 2018.

SWINE PRODUCTION The swine population in Ireland is mainly accomplished by family farms, with a history of outstanding production. Swine production in Ireland comes in third place in the country’s gross agricultural production, accounting for 8% of the total. In recent years, Irish pork producers, despite the difficulties, have achieved a gradual increase in productivity. The price of Irish meat compared to the average price of the European Union has improved and, at the end of 2018, it has been at 103%.

increase in Irish pork production of 11% in just six years, with a significant growth recorded last year.

Irish farmers said goodbye to 2018, a year of low prices and stagnation of the pig sector, accompanied by an increase in general costs, with the prospect of a decline in domestic consumption.

Swine producers in Ireland processed each kilo of pork with an approximate loss of 10 cents, while the average price of meat was at a stable average of 1.40 euros/kg, after a series of decreases at the end of 2017 and early 2018. Even so, at present, production costs are around 1.50 euros/kg.

SCARCE PRODUCTION

EXPORTS

In Ireland there are few swine producers; the figure is likely to hover around 200, with a total population of 1.6 million pigs, including 149,999 breeder sows spread over 290 commercial flocks. This amount is relatively small and is threatening the pig sector, since, at present, farmers lose an average of 3,500 euros per week, and this situation is not sustainable.

The value of Irish pork exports grew by 14% during 2018, reaching over 712 million euros. This increase represents a healthy growth of the swine industry for this country that has increased its export levels to areas such as the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

Irish pork production data released in October 2018 showed that pork exports from January to July had increased by 4% compared to 2017. The high price and profits of last year stimulated a 3% increase in pig meat throughout the European Union. Even so, the biggest problem for Ireland is the slowdown in Chinese pork imports, which were reduced by 20% last year compared to 2016.

With this data, pork production in Ireland the last week of 2018 closed with a count of 15,686 heads, a total of 44,659 fewer heads than the previous week and 5,496 fewer than in the same week of 2017.

Concerning labour, employment in the Irish swine industry represents at least 1,300 work units in local farms, and a total number of jobs involved in the associated industries, such as the processing of pork, the manufacture of feed, transport and services, is estimated to be 8,300 employees.

In 2017, the annual swine census stood at one million six hundred thousand sixteen pigs, a figure that exceeds those of the last decade. The total amount of pork produced per year reached 294 thousand tons. These results are equiva-lent to an

DATA ABOUT IRELAND Capital:

DublĂ­n

Area:

70.273 km2

Population:

4.857.000

Population density:

69,1 in hab / km2

DGP

$381.720 million dolars

In general, the economic situation of the Irish pig sector is facing an increasingly uncertain future. On the other hand, international pressures arising from exports compromised by Brexit have affected trade relations between the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Faced with the critical development of pork production, the prices and exports during 2019 will be the key that determines the global result for Ireland. roduction, the prices and exports during 2019 will be the key that determines the global result for Ireland.

Farm with freedom farrowing in Co-Kerry, Ireland. Foto: McAuliffe Pig Farms.

A colorful family of pigs in free farrowing.

Foto: McAuliffe Pig Farms

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THE MOST EXTENSIVE RANGE

OF PRODUCTS FOR PIG EQUIPMENT

DISPENSERS CLUTCH DISPENSER DOSIMATIC SIMPLEX D-2 FOUR FIVE SIX-D SIX-S ADAPTER LINE DISPENSER OUTLET ADAPTER

PANS MAXI PAN MAXI HOPPER PAN MAXITAINER FOR MAXI PAN TECNA PAN INITIATION PAN EASY PAN INITIATION PAN MINI PAN MINI HOPPER PAN MINITAINER

FEEDERS GROW FEEDER MAXI GROW FEEDER MINI SOW FEEDER SWING R3 DUO

ELECTRONIC FEED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DOSITRONIC DOSITRONIC G

SWING R3 WET SWING R3 TUBE TR2 FEEDER TR3D FEEDER

SF3D FEEDER TR5 FEEDERS SOW BOWL FEEDING BALL

DRINKING BOWLS & VRH-3 VALVE VRH-3 SWING DRINKER EASY DRINKER DUO EASY DRIKER MINI EASY DRIKER MIDI COVER NI-2 POR PIGLETS NI-2 CORNER NI-2 MOBILE LAMPHOLDER LID WITH LED LIGHT, 5W

SPLAYLEG STOP ANTI-STRESS FEEDER ANTI-STRESS CHAIN

PANELS BLIND PANEL 1200X1000 VENTILATED PANEL 1200X1000 BLIND PANELS MADE TO SIZE VENTILATED PANELS MADE TO SIZE MIXED PANELS MADE TO SIZE FAST DOOR KIT POLIAMID UNION BRAKETS FOR PANELS PROFILES FOR PANELS

PVC PVC PROFILES (50,25,10 CM) CLOSE PVC PEN DIVIDERS OPEN PVC PEN DIVIDERS FAST LOCK BRACKETS U BRACKETS SOLID GRIP

SILOMETRIC CHAIN AND DISK SYSTEM • SHOCK ABSORBING TEETH SYSTEM. • EASY ADJUSTABLE CHAIN TENSIONING SYSTEM WITH GRADUATION SCALE. • CORNERS WITH EASY APERTURE SYSTEM. • SILO EXTRACTION SYSTEM WITH AN AGITATOR.

AUGER SYSTEM THE SILO OUTLET SYSTEM CONSIST OF A SILO BOOT, A TRANSFER UNIT AND A SLIDE GATE ASSEMBLY THAT ALLOWS HORIZONTAL AND INCLINED INSTALLATION.

SLATS WEANER BLIND PARTIAL BLIND SOW TRAP SLAT WEAN TO FINISH

ELECTRIC HEATED PLATE WATER HEATED PLATE CAST IRON FERROCAST LEVEL BED / RAISED

FLOOR DELTA BEAM PROFILE T PROFILE DELTA NET SYSTEM ERGOFIX BASIC POST BEAM CLICK-IN

TECNAPUR SOLID-LIQUID SEPARATOR AGITATOR