Cargill opens $2m center in Turkey
The new TAC follows a deal in 2015, when Cargill acquired a majority stake in Ekol Gida, a Turkish company operating in premix and feed-additives markets.
“Severe climate and the availability of raw materials are significant challenges for dairy and poultry customers in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa,” said Scott Ainslie, global strategic marketing and technology director for Cargill’s animal nutrition business.
“This new TAC will enable Cargill Animal Nutrition R&D and applications teams to evaluate and test Cargill global technology under local conditions, such as heat stress. Ultimately, our TACs allow us to more quickly deliver new products and services in the region, marketed under the Provimi brand, that meet the specific requirements of our customers for their locations.”
Partnership with local dairy farm
The new TAC was created through a partnership with an existing commercial dairy farm owned by the Egesay Animal Agriculture Food Industry and Trade Company.
“The Egesay farm is a typical Turkish, family-owned farm representative of a large part of the Turkish market and ideal for performing practical field trials,” said Guillaume Smeets, Middle East, Turkey and Africa regional director for Cargill’s animal nutrition business.
“Having access to the farm’s 150 lactating cows will enable us to evaluate how to incorporate different, locally-produced raw materials into the rations of cows in different production phases, particularly as they relate to heat stress periods.
“Dairy and poultry are growing consumer markets for this region and to meet the demand, producers are professionalizing and scaling up their operations,” Smeets added.
“The Izmir TAC will enable our customers to obtain the best possible solutions from around the world by leveraging Cargill’s five global R&D Innovation Centers and learnings from our other 12 TACs.”