Evonik strengthens its activities in Precision Livestock Farming with acquisition of Belgian Big Data software provider Porphyrio

On 31^th October Evonik Industries, headquartered in Essen (Germany), completed the acquisition of Porphyrio NV. Porphyrio NV, a leading provider of cloud based intelligent data management software for the poultry industry, will remain a separate company within the Evonik Animal nutrition Business.

The ownership of Evonik will bring significant benefits to Porphyrio’s customers with access to a much wider range of specialist products and services, including data- and knowledge-based recommendations for feed composition and sustainable diets in animal farming.

Porphyrio provides cloud-based specialty software to professional poultry producers worldwide for processing and analysing livestock data. Their data-driven solutions enable livestock producers to better manage, predict, and optimise their operations with the aid of Big Data Biostatistics & potential use of “Artificial Intelligence”.

“Big data and self-learning algorithms could help producers to gain a better understanding of the complex events in the poultry farm and these can be linked with concepts for sustainable animal nutrition. In this way, productivity, efficiency, quality, and animal welfare will all benefit from synergies in animal nutrition and livestock farming,” says Dr Emmanuel Auer, head of Evonik’s Animal Nutrition Business Line.

Evonik will contribute to this at various levels, by providing diagnostic kits to record parameters for the animals’ state of health, software, data analysis and guidance for the animal farming, and also offer data- and knowledge-based recommendations for feed composition and sustainable diets.

On 2nd November, Evonik announced a minority investment in OPTIfarm, a company headquartered in Chesterfield (United Kingdom), that provides 24/7 support and service for poultry producers aiming at better animal welfare, improved livestock performance and increased peace of mind. This investment together with the acquisition of Porphyrio underpins Evonik’s commitment in precision livestock farming.

Auer firmly believes that, “Current requirements for livestock farming can only be met through adopting holistic solutions. Our broad service portfolio which is in parts already digital today exactly ties into this approach.” For Evonik this means linking data- and knowledge-based services, along with technical services and the availability of a wide portfolio of feed additives, directly with application in livestock farming. “We know the situation and challenges our customers face, we understand the physiology of the animals, and have decades of experience in animal nutrition. Now we’re bringing all that together with the help of state-of-the-art digital technology—tailored to specific customer requirements.”

About Evonik Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-orientated innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world with more than 36,000 employees. In fiscal 2017, the enterprise generated sales of €14.4 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.36 billion.

About Nutrition & Care The Nutrition & Care segment is led by Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH and contributes to fulfilling basic human needs. That includes applications for everyday consumer goods as well as animal nutrition and health care. This segment employed about 8,250 employees, and generated sales of around €4.5 billion in 2017.

Source: Thepoultrysite.com, Nov 8, 2018 and Porphyrio.com