Vencomatic Group and Orbem partner for in ovo sexing of poultry eggs

Eersel, NL and Munich, GE— Vencomatic Group (VMG), 31 May 2022, a family-owned supplier of innovative solutions for the international poultry industry, and Orbem, a leading deep-tech imaging and AI technology company, today announced a broad and long-term partnership to jointly market and provide the “Genus Focus” fully automated end-to-end system. The Genus Focus is an MRI-based high throughput non-invasive solution for in ovo sexing of poultry eggs of any breed.

The combined modular solution based on Orbem’s Genus Focus technology and Prinzen’s automation equipment enables reliable and non-invasive real-time sex determination of poultry embryos between day 12 and 13 with a throughput of up to 24,000 eggs per hour. The solution applies equally to brown and white eggs. Two installations with a capacity of 6,000 and 12,000 eggs per hour will be fully operational at two French locations in January 2023 in line with French regulatory requirements. 

The agreement includes financing facilitated by VMG of up to 15m EUR for equipment to be deployed at customer sites throughout Europe. This allows hatcheries to use the combined Orbem/VMG solution without any upfront investment just based on a performance fee per egg. 

Orbem’s team of twenty-five scientists and engineers have developed the proprietary imaging and AI technology behind the Genus Focus, including determining hardware specifications and software data flows required for high throughput analytics. VMG supplies a newly engineered handling and sorting system for moving, picking and transporting eggs with the greatest care and throughput.

Dr. Pedro Gómez, CEO of Orbem: “We are very pleased to take our partnership with VMG to the next level after having worked successfully with them on the automation elements for our first two customer installations in order to reach throughput levels attractive for the industry. The joint approach to the market will allow our growing customer base even easier access to this novel technology.“

Dr. Lotte van de Ven, CEO of VMG: “We see the non-invasive Orbem solution as the best solution in the market and are very pleased to cooperate to bring this solution to the industry. This MRI-based non-invasive solution is fully in line with our vision to deliver solutions for successful poultry husbandry with the lowest possible environmental impact while achieving the highest animal welfare levels.”

Dr. Pedro Gómez: “I believe Vencomatic’s and Orbem’s combined, fully automated Genus Focus system is a game-changer for in ovo sexing because it is completely non-invasive and functions for all poultry breeds, including white, colored, and brown layers. I am happy to invite any interested party to a selected customer site for a live demonstration of the Genus Focus where you can experience firsthand our system’s accuracy, the variety of breeds it can process, and the ease of operation. We are looking forward to showcasing how the Genus Focus can have a positive impact on your operations.”

--------------------------------------------------------

About Orbem
Based on years of scientific research at the interface of AI, imaging technology and embryonic poultry development, Orbem was founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich. Headquartered in Munich, our top tier, international, diverse, and multidisciplinary research team is conquering new frontiers every single day to build a healthy and sustainable future.