JOZ: 'It's eat or be eaten in our business'

After manure and feeding robots you go now as well selling milking systems, is this a leap of faith?
"No, I come from the dairy world, so this is familiar territory for me. This does not alter the fact that we are taking a very big step with the takeover. In the last three years we have doubled in terms of turnover at JOZ, but at some point the Organic growth peak reached. When Fullwood went up for sale, we followed through on this. Talks started in January and the ink had dried up at just after three yesterday afternoon."

How should we scale this acquisition, how much bigger will you get?
"We are doubling this in terms of employees and turnover. The number of employees is growing to well over two hundred and the turnover goes to more than €80 million."

You tell it as if growth is an end in itself...
"It is. Our competition is also growing and in our business it is eat or be eaten. Moreover, you need scale and strength for innovation. And innovation is key in our market."

How big is Fullwood actually in the Netherlands?
"The market share of the milking robots is approximately 20%. We will continue to develop these systems at an accelerated pace, so there is still room for improvement. But don't forget the conventional milking systems, they are highly regarded. Despite the robotisation, there are also plenty of dairy farmers who milk with for example a swing over or carousel system.Fullwood is quite big in goat farming.Fullwood is also a trusted name in countries like Germany, France and Italy, but also in the United States and Canada.These are markets with an automation debt, like us In principle they copy what is being developed in the Netherlands."

What kind of company will arise after the takeover?
'We become one one shop store for the modern dairy farmer who will sit even closer to our dealers and customers. With Fullwood's milking systems we can offer a total package. That is important for livestock farmers, because then they can deal with a dealer. The name Fullwood will be renamed Fullwood JOZ. We will also be marketing the milking systems in the Netherlands from a new location on the Agriport A7 in North Holland. There we end up sitting next to the John Deere dealer. Fullwood's existing locations in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom will remain intact."

Finally, these are uncertain times in dairy farming with The Hague's nitrogen plans. This hasn't stopped you from investing?
"These are difficult times in the Netherlands, but we as JOZ have confidence in the Dutch agricultural sector. Otherwise we would not have made the acquisition. We can make the Dutch livestock farmer even more efficient, which benefits emissions. Moreover, with our nitrogen cracker a technological solution to the problem. A Dutch farmer would like to innovate, but then there must be perspective. That is now lacking. Deep clean-up of the livestock is not feasible from a social and economic point of view. If politicians want quick results, we must focus on innovation. Simply cleaning up cows is far too short-sighted."