Hazeldene’s embraces a future of growth
The world can change a lot in nearly 60 years. Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm was founded in 1957, by the husband and wife team of Dick and Mavis Hazeldene, and the company remains family owned and operated to this day. But that family has expanded—today Hazeldene’s is a leader in poultry production and the largest private employer in its home of Bendigo, Victoria. While Hazeldene’s is committed to honoring its past and its family name, it’s also a major operation that is fully embracing the future, with all the innovative technology and consumer-driven trends that the future brings.
Growth Through Technology
Technology has evolved rapidly over the years, and that includes cutting edge farming and agricultural technology. “Our business has always been keen to establish better processing through the use of the latest technology systems,” says Adam Hazeldene, a third-generation Hazeldene and Technical Services Manager for the business, who completed studies in Computer Systems Engineering and traveled to work with poultry organizations throughout Europe before returning home to Hazeldene’s armed with education and innovation.
Hazeldene’s has been investing heavily in state-of-the-art poultry equipment to streamline and improve its processes across several of the company’s supply chain stages. Highlights of this equipment include fully climate-controlled layerage areas, a multiphase gas stunning system in keeping with the modern poultry industry’s best practices, and a brand new AeroScalder for improved defeathering. The business has also been working steadily over the last decade to grow and integrate its automation and SCADA systems.
“We have a great relationship with some of the major equipment manufacturers, and we’re passionate about working to a smarter process,” says Hazeldene. “We’ve had our challenges along the way, but I believe we have a very robust system in place. It’s taken significant resources and planning to get our automation to where it is today—however, I’m confident that this has and will continue to prove its worth over time.” To learn more about Hazeldene's animal welfare standards and shift to consumer goods, check out the full article in FDF World.