PPK KARLOVAC IN CROATIA - A LARGE AND MODERN CATTLE BARN WITH STROHMATIC LITTERING SYSTEM

The Croatian meat producer and food retailer PPK Karlovac modernized its existing cattle fattening barn for 1200 heads and expanded it to 2000 fattening places. The high quality of the Schauer housing equipment, as well as the technological leadership with the Strohmatic littering system, were the reason for the investor to trust Schauer with the modernization of the cattle barn.

Our latest customer in Croatia, company PPK Karlovac, was founded in 1963 and belongs to the Pivac Group which started processing meat as far back as 1952. With a total number of 2,000 employees and almost 300 retail stores, the Pivac Group is a market leader in the meat processing sector in Croatia. The best-known products manufactured by its subsidiaries are Dalmatian prosciutto, Dalmatian bacon and dried pork loin, but also dry sausages and salamis.

The “Stari Šumbar” cattle barn, which was renovated in 2020 and equipped by SCHAUER Agrotronic, is part of a large-scale renovation program that has already cost 18 million kuna (approx. 2.4 million euros) to date. The primary benefit was to improve the conditions for the animals and to reduce any negative impact on the environment. At the same time, the customer expanded the cattle barn by 800 fattening places, from 1,200 to 2,000 places.

In addition to the usual high-quality stable equipment and a computer-controlled manure removal system with touchscreen operation, animal health and work efficiency in particular were prioritized through the use of the SCHAUER Strohmatic littering system. This system shreds and de-dusts the straw from large bales and transports it quietly and automatically to the fattening pens. This makes the straw much more absorbent, leading to a 50% reduction in the straw requirement. At the same time, the dust-free straw is an essential part of unpolluted and healthier stable air, which benefits not only the animals but also the workers.

PPK CEO Igor Miljak is audibly proud when he reports in an interview that, if a stable were to be built in Germany or the Netherlands today, it would look just like his renovated stable.

Therefore, the meat of the animals fattened in this stable is not only marketed in Croatia but also in the regions of Milan, Florence and Tuscany, where Pivac Group products are already enjoying increasing popularity.

Are you a cattle farmer yourself?  Contact us for significant product innovations.