Industry Leader: Joost Ter Heerdt, CCO HatchTech ‘The innovations and the people together are changing the industry’
Our conversation with Joost ter Heerdt starts almost naturally with a brief tour of HatchTech Group's new offices, on the A12 near Veenendaal. A striking building and unusual workplace, with lots of glass and high spaces. ‘That openness suits us, but it also suits the sector of today,’ Joost states.
Why is openness such an important theme for the industry precisely now?
The users of our products, poultry and egg producers, are increasingly operating in a transparent world. Everything they do is under a magnifying glass and where sustainability was just a buzzword ten years ago, sometimes more for show, it is now increasingly about truly sustainable production. Producers increasingly realise that they are visible, and that they have and must take responsibility. This makes companies make other choices. Efficiency and effectiveness remain crucial, but those who are only in the race for the lowest cost price are not going to win in the end.
What do you notice about this change?
I think it is significant that we are increasingly developing our products and innovations from a need in the market and together with the market, rather than just from our own conviction. Let me just take our two main innovation projects as an example: HatchCare and GenderSorting. When we introduced HatchCare ten years ago, we were actually ahead of demand. Early feeding, straight from the egg, is now unthinkable, but at that time the market was not about it. We had to develop that demand, based on our own belief that early feeding was better for the animal and therefore for the bottom line. With GenderSorting, the demand arose precisely from the market, due to e German legislation against killing day-old chicks. As a machine builder, we were able to respond to this, to develop a technique that meets the need to sex chicks as early as the egg. That's a completely different angle.
That still sounds like a forced choice for sustainability, though.
That, too, is changing. We now also start working with GenderSorting in a country where there is no legislation around killing cockerels, together with a company that does see a market for it. Over the past few years, we have developed the technology further and further. As a result, we now have a very reliable system that determines the sex in the egg with 98 to 99% accuracy, while the consumer only pays 1 to 2 cents more per egg. That also makes the product interesting for companies that are not obliged to use it by law, but where it fits in with social developments. It is then up to them to raise this awareness, the consumer's willingness to pay those 1 to 2 cents more for an egg they know no chicks were killed for. If the sector itself, can financially value animal welfare, then the most sustainable development occurs.
What does this transition mean for a company like HatchTech?
Actually, it is a confirmation that we are on the right track, building innovations that fit the industry in terms of efficiency, reliability and price, but at the same time opening the door to a different way of working. In that sense, we are ahead of our time, because this is really what HatchTech was born out of. From taking a critical look at the existing way of working, which others might take for granted. How could it be done better, how can we make it even better for the animal? For example, our HatchTraveller was really developed because we saw that transporting the chicks out of the hatchery was a hugely under-researched issue, and that it was to the detriment of quality and health.
Your company has grown tremendously in recent years, with the new office symbolising a HatchTech that is no longer a disruptive newcomer, but an established player. So how do you make sure you still remain innovative?
That curiosity and drive to do better, though, is really in our DNA. Not least thanks to our founder and CEO, Tjitze Meter. But you are right that we are definitely working on keeping that. We want to create a culture where everyone keeps their eyes and ears open and keeps thinking critically. We always keep asking questions. That applies to our research and product development department, of course, but certainly also to the service teams, who guide and train our customers. They see daily in practice where there are still needs or opportunities. And the great thing is: because the outside world is also starting to recognise that this is our DNA, new innovations increasingly emerge because market parties knock on our door with their questions, in order to look for answers together. They recognise that HatchTech develops products that perform optimally and are robust. This is supported by careful test results and scientific research. This is how, for example, the HatchCare for turkeys was created.
How does the new office fit with HatchTech today?
First of all, this building is a very comfortable workplace for all our people. All under the same roof. That is hugely important for the culture and to keep thinking ahead together. In addition, it was built the way we are: open and transparent, with lots of glass. But the best example is of course the Experience Centre, where we show all our solutions and products on 1,200 m2. No models, no simulators, but the real HatchCare, the real GenderSorting circuit and the real HatchTraveller trucks. This is not only a kind of permanent exhibition floor for us, it is also the perfect training centre. Our customers and their employees can come here for tailor-made training so they know our products, and the technology behind them, inside out and know exactly how to get the most out of them. Innovations and people together are changing the industry. Only then can we really make a difference.
