Publication in Dutch Magazine Pluimveeweb

The Engelen brothers go for the best hatching eggs in the world

‘Collaborating with parties that also want to win’
Brothers Jeroen and Twan Engelen operate a poultry rearing farm and a breeding farm in Someren in North Brabant, the Netherlands, and they export hatching eggs. They aim high. “What we do is Formula 1,” says Twan. “We sell the best products in the world and for this we work together with parties who have the same ambitions.”

The history of the family business in Someren (NL) goes back to 1962 and Twan and Jeroen are now the third generation. The company started as breeding farm Engelen under the management of grandfather Toon and grandmother Nel. Their successors Toos and Noud have added rearing farm Engelen to this list.
The brothers have been playing an active role since 2006. First they take over the rearing farm, followed four years later by the breeding farm and another four years later they start Angel Eggs, an exporter of hatching eggs. In the meantime (in 2012) Engelen Energy sees the light of day.
All activities are spread over five different locations in Someren, The Netherlands. “We sell proteins and energy, two things that all people need,” says Twan at the office of Angel Eggs, which annually exports around 160 million hatching eggs. “With our products, we form the basis of healthy food for about ten to twelve million people.”

Sustainable, healthy and high quality
In addition to sustainability and (the best) quality, health is a common thread through the business operations. One of the sustainable developments is the establishment of Engelen Energie, which generates energy for its own use – think of the machinery – and for third parties.
The two other criteria go hand in hand: healthy chicks lead to healthy hens and roosters, and high quality eggs. The selected day-old chicks that are purchased go to their own breeding company after twenty weeks. They then stay there for up to 62 weeks.
Everything enfolds according to the ambitions of the duo, which has ‘the start of a healthy chick’ as pay-off from Angel Eggs for a reason. “In the field of health, we are leading the way in the Netherlands anyway. Because we export our hatching eggs, I have been able to see a lot of the world and therefore also see that it is not or much less well organized in many places. In fact, I dare to call our country a world leader in this specific area.”

Powerfogger
Being a leader is what the brothers also strive for with their companies. “What we do is formula 1. If you participate in that, you want to win,” Twan summarizes their ambitions. “And so we focus on the production of the best hatching eggs in the world.”
To stay ahead, development is crucial. ‘You create your own competition if you stand still,’ says Engelen. “If we continue to evolve, we will continue to lead the way.”
To ensure this, we collaborate with parties that have the same ambitions as the duo. One of those companies is Veugen Technology in Nederweert. “They started as a rearing farm, added company hygiene to it and therefore know what they are talking about.”
There is also sustainability in that area, because the collaboration has been going on since 1990. ‘In that year we bought a Pulsfog from them to be able to disinfect ourselves and for better hygiene. At that time, the company had been active in this industry for about two years. Now we also have a truck disinfection system on our truck through them, a coldfogger to disinfect the hatching eggs, a Turbofogger, Marayama backpack sprayers and several Powerfoggers to disinfect the poultry houses.’
The latest addition is the Powerfogger 60D, which is hard at work at the time of this visit (and therefore cannot be photographed). “We are very satisfied with it. But if it weren’t for that, our collaboration wouldn’t have lasted that long together.”

Knowledge and experience
According to Engelen, sustainable cooperation is also about ‘keeping eachother on our toes. ‘Jeroen and I are very actively looking for suppliers, but we only want suppliers who can add something to the realization of our ambitions and business operations.’
Frans Veugen qualifies as such supplier. ‘Because they also want to lead the way with their products, by providing customization. We share that ambition and therefore we understand each other. This is important.’
However, the brothers are also critical customers, according to Engelen. ‘I dare to look at others, but on the other hand I trust blindly to their expertise in the field of professional hygiene. The exclusivity of their devices makes it difficult to compare. Then it is important that you can rely on each other’s knowledge and skills.’

Text: Rick Leonards
Photos: Rik Leonards and Veugen Technology.

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Link naar het originele artikel ( in het Nederlands)
www.fransveugen.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Kennisartikel_Pluimveeweb_Juli_2023.pdf