Dairy specialist DeLaval is celebrating 100 years of trading in Britain this year, and 130 years since the company was founded in Sweden by Gustav de Laval. Some dealerships in the UK have worked with the manufacturer since the very beginning, with customers that first installed DeLaval equipment in the 1920s.
“Our dealership network has been the backbone of our British success, helping DeLaval to forge strong relationships with British farmers. Mathers Ltd, operating in the northwest of England and Scotland is the longest-standing DeLaval dealer in the world, having been with the brand since 1923,” explained UK & Ireland sales territory manager Ciaran Murphy.
In 1930, the company was the first to introduce rotary milking parlours. Fast forward to the 21st century and robotics has been the primary growth market as farms struggle with skilled labour shortages and equipment maintenance costs.
“Robots have marked a new era in dairying. Herd sizes have doubled since the millennium and labour shortages have become a concern worldwide. Our milking robots have been designed to improve cow health and yield and restore a sense of balance to farm life by freeing up valuable time,” added Mr Murphy.
The influx of data has also seen the brand develop software to monitor the milking process, from detecting cows in heat to identifying potential yield losses due to mastitis.
“Our Think Big initiative has helped hundreds of farms to plan for growth, and monitoring systems such as DelPro are helping herd managers to reduce costs, improve cow welfare and create more sustainable farms,” he said.
The company will celebrate its centenary at Dairy-Tech, on Wednesday the 1st of February at Stoneleigh Park.
