Last year, Orffa established legal entities in Thailand, Colombia, South Africa and Argentina. It currently has sales in over 80 countries worldwide and has offices in the main feed producing markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia (US, Mexico, Brazil, India, Vietnam, Japan, New Zealand). The company also plans to expand its reach to other Asia Pacific countries, Africa and Russia. Orffa sells over 160 000 million tons of feed additives a year to over 800 customers in Europe alone.
In his introductory presentation Dr Eddy Ketels, Orffa’s CEO, said that South Africa is to become a leading powerhouse for feed production in the future, and it was this fact that drove the company to establish their presence in the country’s growing market.
Engineering feed solutions
According to Dr Ketels, Orffa focuses solely on feed additives, ingredients such as vitamins and minerals, as well as specialty additives for animals ranging from ruminants, pigs and poultry, to pets and the aquaculture industry.
What makes the company stand out is the fact that it is founded on the philosophy of engineering feed solutions. Each solution is engineered with the help of global research and development partnerships. Orffa develops formulas in partnership with universities for trial development of new products. Once a product formula has been perfected, they source specialist manufacturers to produce it.
Dr Ketels said that all their products are manufactured with European quality as reference, which includes a compulsory certificate of analysis. Every batch is analysed for contaminants and additional random analyses are performed for further optimisation of quality control.
Orffa’s regulatory affairs department is familiar with the requirements that must be met to register its products on a global level (180 product/country combinations registered), with each country having very specific standards and regulations. In addition, the company has submitted another 100 dossiers in various countries.
Speciality feed development
The latest addition to the Orffa range of products is speciality feed development. Examples of Orffa’s specialised added value additives are a high hydrophiliclipophilic balance (HLB) emulsifier, betaine, and organic selenium, specifically L-Selenomethionine, which is the only form of selenium that is properly utilised and stored in general body proteins (e.g. milk, meat and eggs). It is also the first dust free selenium product and therefore cannot harm workers who may inhale it.
Selenium for improved performance
There was an in-depth discussion on the role of selenium supplementation in animal feed. Brecht Bruneel (MSc), part of the central technical management at Orffa, said selenium (incorporated in selenoenzymes) reduces stress in animals, whether it is caused by heat, transport, reproduction, or the strain of feed conversion. Major biological functions of selenium include proper thyroid function and the maintenance of a strong immune system.
Selenium storage (in the form of L-Selenomethionine) in general body proteins provides an ingenious way to increase the animal’s selenium status and provides continuous access to selenium for the production of selenoenzymes. The animal will benefit from this continuous supply as it will be able to cope better in stressful conditions and reach optimal performance.
The offspring of L-Selenomethioninesupplemented production animals also benefit, since L-Selenomethionine increases the deposition of selenium to the highest extend in milk and eggs. This, in turn, benefits consumers of milk, milk products, eggs and meat. L-Selenomethionine trials conducted on poultry and swine indicated higher selenium deposition, improved protection against stress and subsequent improved performance. Orffa’s L-Selenomethionine additive performs better than other similar additives in bringing the necessary amount of selenium to the animal and its offspring.
AFMA certification confirmed
During the launch De Wet Boshoff, executive director of the Animal Feed Manufacturers’ Association (AFMA), took the opportunity to present Orffa’s CEO with an official certificate of the AFMA Code of Conduct for the Manufacturing of Safe Compound Animal Feed. This means that Orffa is now an official member of the AFMA fraternity.
