Cooperative tries to get out of the shadow of Batavo

CARAMBEÍ (PR)-a story that started 106 years is ready to earn new chapters. The cooperative that gave rise to the Batavo brand abandoned your name Centennial and, besides providing milk, pigs and wheat for the main Brazilian brands, now prepares also to give more ambitious jumps in retail.
Today, the production of the cooperative, renamed Friesland, is found on supermarket shelves under well-known brands, companies that outsource the production of derivatives of milk with her: Nest, Nestlé, aviation, Itambé, Tirol and Paulista are some of these brands. The goal of the cooperative now, according to your President, Renato Greidanus, is increasingly investing in products with own brands to be remunerated to retail prices. "We have control of the entire production chain, which guarantees us credibility," he says.
Founded by Dutch immigrants, in the region of Campos Gerais, Parana, the cooperative brings together 800 agricultural owners and Bill R $2.3 billion per year. The Dutch first arrived in the region, which is just over 100 km of Curitiba, between 1911 and 1920. They founded in 1928, the Agricultural Cooperative in the town of Bata Carambeí, today with 20000 inhabitants.
Even after selling the Batavo brand for Parmalat, in 1998, to pay debts, the cooperative has kept the original name for nearly 20 years. In all, the brand has passed through the hands of four owners. In 2000, it was sold to Pandey (BRF) and now belongs to French for Lactalis. The main unit is still in Carambeí Batavo. Now, however, the façade takes the '' signature '' of the new owner.
Innovation. While praising his own story, to try to expand the use of Frisian technology in your production. Part of that investment in automation is represented by Melkstad, a company owning a system shaped carousel that allows 50 milking cows at the same time.
Six producers have joined together to form a flock that today has 1,180 cows in lactation and acquire American equipment, in an investment of RS $30 million. '' We have ability to reach 1900 lactating cows with the investment already made, "says Diogo Vriesman, Managing Director of Melkstad.
In addition, smaller properties have purchased smaller equipment, R $1 million, called by members of "robots". One of the machines already installed in the city is the home of Jan Erkel, of 74 years. The farmer arrived in 1993 to town and bought 200 acres of land. He came up with his wife and a son, to start from scratch. Next to Jannie, went on to deliver milk in your co-op. "First we had one cow producing, then came the second, the third ...," he recalls. After a time, the Patriarch of the Erkels decided to stop the retirement, met a new herd of 70 cows and invested in an automatic milking machine. Jan and Jannie accompany real-time production looking graphics on a laptop, without leaving home.
Pigs. One of the latest investment of Friesland and its partners – a production unit of pigs – is intended for 30% of your production to cheer up brand, today distributed in Paraná and in some retailers of São Paulo, as Hirota and Assai (Grupo Pão de Açúcar). One third of the production is intended for export of meat cuts, while the remainder is divided between industrialization to a third party (as Chang) and items to restaurants (like bacon for McDonald''s and rib for Applebee''s, Madero and Outback). The factory today 3200 slaughter hogs a day, but plans to reach 4500 units at the end of 2018.
The search for a stronger bias of industrialization is a common goal of the cooperative sector, according to the commodities consultant, Intl Kayel Baroni FC Stone. Even industry leaders – such as Latin America''s largest cooperative of Coamo, – are behind a smaller commodity dependence.
In this scenario, the model to be followed is that of the catarinense Aurora, cooperative that is the third placed in the domestic market in various derived from meat, behind only of BRF and JBS. "There is a widespread search on diversification in the industry, with varying levels of success," said Baroni.
Partnership. Instead of only providing raw material, Frisia works in partnership with two other cooperatives – Paraná and Capal, located in nearby towns – and defined three pillars of activity: milk, meat and wheat. The three cooperatives, which have acted together in time of Batavo, now work to build new brands, among them the Glad and the Dutch colony, which belong to the Friesland.
The next endeavour Batavo founder''s in search of your place on the shelves will be the wheat mill. The cooperative has already created a brand for your flour-Dutch Heritage, but today it is distributed only in bulk.
This should change soon: the project is that the retail sale of Paraná start in 2018, according to the President of Friesland, Renato Greidanus. Will be another step towards the cooperative fails to be seen only as the century-old Batavo creator.