Cobb-Vantress, Inc. has signed a joint venture agreement with integrated Chinese chicken producer Hubei Tong Xing Agriculture Co. Ltd. to establish new grandparent farms and hatchery facilities in Suizhou, China.

The joint venture company is officially known as Hubei Tong Xing Cobb Breeding Company, Ltd., with 85 per cent of the shares of which owned by Cobb. Its initial production target amounts to five million parent females per year.

The hatchery will have a total capacity of 18 million hatching eggs per year, and the first egg setting is planned on October 1st, 2014. Petersime BioStreamer™ incubators for 4 and for 8 trolleys have been ordered to provide maximum flexibility.

Petersime was selected as the hatchery designer and equipment supplier after extensive research. Mr Dave Juenger of Cobb USA comments: "Petersime already has strong references in China. After reviewing all incubator supplier options we concluded that choosing Petersime made the most sense for this business venture in terms of product quality, service, and logistics."

The GP project in Suizhou is an important step forward in the strategies of both Cobb and Petersime to increase their presence in China.

From left to right: Mr André van Rij (Petersime Area Sales Manager), Mr Dave Juenger (Cobb Director of Global Support Services), Mr Ben Green (Cobb Director of Hatcheries), and Mr Michel De Clercq (Petersime Managing Director), at the signing of the contract at the Petersime headquarters