Fifty participants from 26 countries took part in the 2016 World Technical School organized by Cobb-Vantress, Inc., and held in Siloam Springs, Ark. The program included hands-on workshops on farms, hatcheries and in the laboratory.
“This year’s Cobb School was a tremendous success,” said Dr. Steve Bolden, director of the Cobb World Technical Support Team. “Industry specialists from all over the world spent two weeks sharing best practices with one another, while touring poultry facilities, attending classes together and sharing meals.
“The school remains the best training tool I’ve ever witnessed in our industry, and our distributors and customers very much look forward to their chance to attend. The relationships made with others across the world can be extremely valuable and last for a lifetime,” Dr. Bolden said.
The two-week program included visits to a broiler farm, a parent stock farm and processing plant and a laboratory practical at the University of Arkansas. The classroom sessions featured presentations by members of the World Technical Support Team covering all aspects of poultry meat production.
Widening the syllabus, there was also an afternoon of leadership training at the renowned Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics at John Brown University in Siloam Springs and an international cook off won by the Asia-Pacific team with their mix of regional cuisine.
Mauricio Mazurek, nutritionist with Pluma in Brazil, said, “In a small group with so many countries represented we are able to share our experiences and expand our minds to look at the poultry business globally — not just from within our own region. The World Technical Support Team treats us not just as customers but as friends. “
Jim Tozer, head of operations for KENCHIC in Kenya, said, “It’s been an amazing two weeks! It was great to meet the Cobb global technical team as well as people from other parts of the world and appreciate their issues and opportunities. In our experience, there’s nothing you can’t ask of the Cobb technical experts. When we’ve had issues, their reaction has been phenomenal — whether it’s a phone call, an email or even someone jumping on a plane to come and see us.”
