Pioneering spirit and decisiveneess, tradition and progress: the dynamic path from “Deutsche Fischmehl GmbH” to LOHMANN TIERZUCHT GmbH, the global market leader for layer parent stock.

The Beginning

Which came first – the chicken or the egg? LOHMANN has always and will always focus on both: the chicken and the egg. The success story of layer breeding in Cuxhaven began in 1959 on the basis of a licensing agreement with Heisdorf & Nelson (H&N) USA and the setting up of the LOHMANN TIERZUCHT veterinary laboratory.

The contact with the US on the broiler sector caused LOHMANN to seek similar co-operation in the layer sector. In Europe the average production per hen at that time was about 130 to 150 eggs per year while American hybrids were laying 240 eggs per year.

In 1959 a contract was signed with Heisdorf & Nelosn Farms, USA, a leading layer breeding company. LOHMANN acquired the exclusive distribution right of the ”Nick Chick” in most of Europe, North Africa, the Near East and the Middle East. An important part of the contract was co-operation in the basic breeding program.
The first step in was to build up a franchise organization, i. e. parent stock operations and hatcheries, either fully owned by customers or as joint ventures with LOHMANN. The various regions were supplied with layer chicks and pullets by these franchise hatcheries. In contrast to broiler production, the layer type pullets were usually delivered to egg producers who had kept layers for years .
Eggs were sold through the channels of the established egg trade. Due to the outstanding service provided for the franchise operations and the excellent quality of the HNL Nick Chick produced by them, within a few years LOHMANN became the leader in the layer market in the Federal Republic of Germany and in numerous other countries.



Things really start to happen

Not quite 10 years later, in 1968, the company began to develop specific pathogen free flocks for the production of Vakzine Lohmann SPF eggs (VALO  subsequently VALO BioMedia GmbH).

In 1970 things really started to happen. There was the spin-off of LOHMANN TIERZUCHT GmbH, including the veterinary laboratory and VALO SPF, in the course of the conversion of LOHMANN & Co KG into LOHMANN & Co Aktiengesellschaft. In the field of breeding, there is a great collaboration of scientists and technicians between the genetic departments in Cuxhaven and the USA. This large-scale breeding work can expect an above-average progress of the breeding products.

LSL Efficiency Formula for Egg production

It soon became evident that the requirements for individual traits of the hybrid and the egg were not the same in Europe and the USA. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a layer specifically adapted to “our” markets. After only a few years of intensive genetic work, LOHMANN came out with our successful layer, the LSL hen (LOHMANN Selected Leghorn).

1977 began with the expiry of the licensing agreement for the world-wide sales and the huge success of the LSL laying hens.



LOHMANN BROWN – guarantee of success

In 1984 there followed a further major guarantee of success: LOHMANN BROWN began to dominate the market. So for markets with a preference for brown-shelled eggs, LOHMANN also offers the tailored bird. Thus, LOHMANN also offers the right hen for markets in demanding brown eggs, thereby securing a high market share in this rapidly growing segment. After only a short time LOHMANN distributors and their customers appreciate that they can purchase very productive and efficient white and brown layers from the very same source and therefore are able to react quickly to changing demands on the egg market.

Three years later, in 1987, Paul Wesjohann & Co GmbH purchased LOHMANN & Co AG, inclusive of the subsidiary company, LOHMANN TIERZUCHT GmbH, which then in 1999 became part of the globally-operating EW Group GmbH.



In 2008 the new vaccine factory was founded. However, in 2010 the vaccine business was outsourced to the independent associate company, vaxxinova GmbH, closely followed in 2011 by the outsourcing of the VALO/ SPF business sector to the subsidiary company, VALO BioMedia GmbH.



These are merely the significant key dates in this success story. This is based on the knowledge that the egg is, and will always be, an economical source of animal protein and an attractive and versatile product. Anybody who wants to produce eggs needs laying hens – and of course only healthy and efficient ones. Therefore, LOHMANN began very early to concentrate on these characteristics in their selection programs. Consumers, however, wanted more to choose from: Some people preferred white eggs, others brown eggs, some wanted large eggs, others smaller eggs.

Even egg producers had different demands: some kept layers in cages, others in aviaries or free-range systems. To meet these demands, LOHMANN quickly developed the principle „The right hen for every managmeent – the right egg for every market“. The initial product range of two hybrids, LOHMANN LSL and LOHMANN BROWN, was extended to three products in white or brown shell colour: CLASSIC for “average egg size, LITE for smaller egg size and EXTRA for extra high egg weight. The hybrids LOHMANN TRADITION, LOHMANN SILVER and LOHMANN SANDY complete the range.



Technical Service

“The right hen for every managmeent – the right egg for every market” This means: Understanding the market of each customer and being in constant dialogue with distributors and egg producers. In other words: Breeding for success…together. Day after day – on all five continents. It was with this corporate mission that LOHMANN achieved outstanding breeding results over the past 60 years, becoming the global market leader in the production of parent stock and layers.

The ambitious goal, at that time and today: To further increase its world market shares by strengthening customer service and entering new markets with growth potential.



World-wide presence guarantees first place

LOHMANN TIERZUCHT is represented in all the key regions of the world by production sites, subsidiary companies and world-wide shareholdings. With our own production sites for pure lines and grandparent stock in Germany, Denmark, Spain, Canada, the USA and recently also in Scotland and our own breeding establishments in all the major countries, we have a solid base and have secured major competitive advantages for our customers. Although the headquarters of LOHMANN TIERZUCHT is and remains in Cuxhaven, in order to meet the demands of a leading global company, we have been working since 2015 on decentralisation to secure the success and the existence of this “small company” from Cuxhaven. To be continued….



Little steps become milestones

Anyone who has been successful in one field of activity for decades, must have made progress. Often, any little steps become milestones – a sample:
• Marek Vaccination: Nearly 50 percent of pullets, especially in Sothern Europe, became victims of Marek’s disease until LOHMANN developed a vaccine against this virus.
• Feather-sexing LSL: Sexing of chicks used to be difficult. LOHMANN inserted a gene in one parent line which causes the wing feathers of male chicks to grow slower than in females.
• Fishy odour eliminated: Fishy odour in eggs is due to a gene defect in brown egg layers. Five to ten percent of hens show this gene defect. LOHMANN scientists developed a testing procedure and eliminated the problem by rigorous selection.
• Testing under non-cage conditions: To be able to collect individual records from hens in free range or floor housing, LOHMANN supported the development of two innovative solutions: The Weihenstephan Funnel Nest Box and the Electronic Pop Hole.
• Diversification of egg weight: Due to the growing differences in the demands of different markets on the egg weight, LOHMANN splits the breeding lines based on the egg weight in CLASSIC, LITE and EXTRA.