Dairy equipment specialist DeLaval has traded in Britain for 100 years following the company’s establishment in Sweden 130 years ago by founder Gustav de Laval.

Some dealerships in the UK have worked with DeLaval since the very beginning, and still work with farms that installed DeLaval equipment in the 1920s. Dealers such as T H White for example, have a significant dairy machinery division alongside their ag one.

 
“Our dealership network has been the backbone of our British success, helping DeLaval to forge strong relationships with British farmers. Mathers Ltd, operating in the northwest of England and Scotland is the longest standing DeLaval dealer in the world, having been with the brand since 1923,” explains UK & Ireland sales territory manager Ciaran Murphy.
 
In 1930, DeLaval was the first to introduce rotary milking parlours. In the 21st century, the rise of robotics has been the primary growth market for the brand as farms have struggled with skilled labour and equipment maintenance costs.
 
“Robots have marked a new era in dairying. Herd sizes have doubled since the millennium and labour shortages have become a concern worldwide. Our milking robots have been designed to improve cow health and yield, but also to restore a sense of balance to farm life by freeing up valuable time,” adds Mr Murphy.

Data driven farming has also led the brand to develop farm software to monitor every aspect of the milking process, from detecting cows in heat to identifying potential yield losses as a result of mastitis.
 
“Our Think Big initiative has helped hundreds of farms to plan for growth, and monitoring systems such as DelPro are helping herd managers to reduce costs, improve cow welfare and create more sustainable farms,” he says.
 
Despite a focus on technology, the brand still manufactures a wide range of dairy equipment, from brushes and cleaning products to clusters and conventional milking parlours.
 
The company will be celebrating their centenary at the upcoming Dairy-Tech.