Smartbow and Zoetis start partnership for smart eartag-system in dairy farming
Smartbow and Zoetis start partnership for smart eartag-system in dairy farming
Five million Euro investment for the worldwide distribution of the digital system Eartag LIFE mark the start of a long-term cooperation between the partners
M&A consultancy i5invest facilitates the deal
Weibern (AT)/ Madison (NJ), February 15, 2017: The Austrian agritech startup Smartbow (www.smartbow.at) has partnered up with Zoetis (www.zoetis.com), the global market leader for animal health products and services, for an exclusive, worldwide distribution partnership backed by five million Euro expansion investment. The deal centers around the product Eartag LIFE, a new type of eartag for cattle breeding by Smartbow, which enables animal identification and behavior monitoring at the same time. The new partners will intensify their cooperation over a three-year period, whereby Smartbow will focus on further innovative product development.
The smart eartag enables reliable heat detection, the monitoring of rumination and health, as well as real-time cow localization. Farmers receive an immediate update on their smartphone about all relevant behavioral changes, such as upcoming anomalies in the metabolic performance of their animals. The exact current position of the animal is indicated on a digital map. Any decision that the situation may call for can be taken immediately, without having to go to the barn. The alerts can reach farmers, farm-workers or the veterinary on their PCs, smartphones (via text message) or tablets. In addition to dairy farming, Smartbow Eartag LIFE is suitable for cattle breeding, as well as pig or other animal farming.
Wolfgang Auer, founder and managing director of Smartbow, explains: „Our eartag differentiates itself by a unique set of features, such as its low weight of only 20 grams and a battery lifespan of six years. The integrated LED light and the selective automated alert system helps the farmer to optimize the time it takes to find a conspicuous animal in the herd. RFID technology safeguards the automatic animal identification and enables the allocation of individual access rights to milking parlors or feeding troughs. With our new distribution partner Zoetis, we will now meet global market needs in hitherto unequalled quality.”
“Smartbow has earned a reputation for developing cutting edge technology tailored to serve the specialized needs of dairy producers”, said Clint Lewis, Executive Vice President and President International Operations of Zoetis. “Bringing the Smartbow system into the Zoetis portfolio enables us to offer dairy customers more complete solutions to help improve the health of the animals in their care and strengthen the efficiency and profitability of their businesses. It allows us to strengthen our digital innovation offerings and to complement our portfolio of medicine, vaccines, diagnostic products, genetic tests, and technical services for dairy producers and the veterinary professionals who support them.”
Herwig Springer and Johannes Raidl of the M&A consultancy i5invest (www.i5invest.com), who brought the distribution partnership on its way, see huge potential in the cooperation of Zoetis and Smartbow: “The Smartbow eartag gives Zoetis’ customers the advantage of an early detection several days ahead of nascent health issues or heat among their animals. As such, veterinary interventions can be improved and optimized. Overall, we see a potential of 250 million dairy cows and a total of 1 billion cattle altogether, which can be fitted with this eartag to effectively counter the growing pressure on margins and professionalization in the face of a current trend of receding available resources in this billion-dollar market.”
Photo caption: Smartbow founder Wolfgang Auer lifts cattle breeding into the digital age. Source: Smartbow
About Smartbow
Smartbow is an agritech startup founded by Wolfgang Auer in Austria. Through the successful development and launch of Eartag LIFE, the company offers a smart and effective solution for real time cow localization, reliable heat detection and non-stop animal behavior monitoring around the clock. With Eartag LIFE dairy farmers have an effective means to reduce operating costs, to optimize the health of their livestock and to simplify breeding procedures. For more information, visit www.smartbow.at
About Zoetis
Zoetis (zô-EH-tis) is the leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 60 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and markets veterinary vaccines and medicines, complemented by diagnostic products and genetic tests and supported by a range of services. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals with sales of its products in more than 100 countries. In 2015, the company generated annual revenue of $4.8 billion with approximately 9,000 employees. For more information, visit www.zoetis.com.
About i5invest
i5invest is a tech investor, as well as a business development and corporate development consultancy, with offices in Vienna, Amsterdam and the Silicon Valley. Their performance record includes more than 20 successful startups and over 100 investment rounds and exits. The consultancy focuses on certain vertical branches within the European tech ecosystem, encompassing all company sizes. Respective core areas are regularly aligned with current market trends in the USA and Europe. “i5” stands for innovate, inspire, incubate and internationalize.