OLBA develops and creates products for poultry and rabbits, designed with passion and market expertise for small non-commercial livestock holders. Starting as a small hobby, the Olba products are now reaching resellers, wholesalers, stores and (web)shops worldwide.
The company was born from the hobby of Douwe Oldenbanning (Director), which developed into the professional market leader of today. As a 12 year old, Douwe kept himself busy with different activities, such as keeping an active interest in various birds and poultry. This early experience has built the foundation of what is today seen as the fine understanding of the commercial world of poultry.
Following several years of experience with poultry and incubators, and while working for one of Europe’s largest hatcheries, Douwe decided to take his dream one step further, and, just as the new millennium has begun (2000), Olba B.V. was established. Initially, the company was family-based and managed, having the office and warehouse maintained on the family farm. In the first years of operation, Douwe combined Olba with keeping broilers.
Douwe’s ambition did not stop there; after acquiring of the company Therbo/Broedmij in 2003, Olba’s rapid growth has begun, opening the doors to international markets. In 2005, whilst embracing continuous growth, Douwe was faced with the difficult decision to focus on either his passion for raising live poultry, or further growing his business to cater to the commercial needs of fellow passionate poultry owners. Supporting poultry enthusiasts with high quality products and knowledge has become the since the point of focus for Olba, and since then, the passion for raising poultry has emerged into deep diving into product development and innovation in the market.
In 2008, Olba opened the doors to its office and warehouse in Coevorden (the Netherlands. In 2013, they expanded their warehouse with a new industrial building that spans over 1,800 square meters and stands 11 meters high, where the Olba magic takes place. Here, the company built a product from concept to a tangible solution for clients, ensuring the highest quality and poultry-readiness is received.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
OLBA: Our signature motto explains extremely well how our company operates – “Passion for poultry”. Our focus has always been bringing the best to poultry and the poultry market, while in time bringing along solutions for rabbits. We are working tirelessly to provide products that do not disappoint for our clients, and ultimately creating the best environment for our end-user: the animal.
In order to stay competitive, we are continuously developing new and innovative products based on the needs of our customers. A great part of our work is dedicated to research and development, as well as concepting innovative ideas for the future of the poultry market – aiming to bring along products that are high in quality and useful for our audience.
Once we decide that a new product is fit to the market, our product team ensures that it fulfils a set of criteria and requirements that together make up our quality check. The product needs to be manufactured in an efficient and cost-effective manner, which means that our team is dedicated to ensuring that no detail goes unnoticed. We are completely dedicated to giving the best value, and that entails adding all the measures necessary from product briefing, to warehouse optimization and end-product quality testing and control. If the end product is deemed suitable and the quality meets or exceeds our initial expectations, we are ready to bring it to the market.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
OLBA: This year, we released two products: an improved rabbit drinker and a customizable poultry drinker that the end-user can tailor to their, or their chicken preference.
In March, we are planning on releasing two more products: a limited-edition product, and the other one is an enhanced version of a current product, to ensure better quality our clients. We pay a lot of attention to what our customers say, so we have plenty of ideas based on their needs for new products.
You can find all of our new products on our website and social media, and we announce all the new additions to our product range on our social media channels as well as news about the company. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter to receive all the news and teasers of our new products!
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
OLBA: Our products are separated in two categories: poultry and rabbit solutions.
The poultry category includes items such as poultry feeders, drinkers, laying nests, rearing materials, transport crates, leg binders, and many other products to help chicken owners provide the best life for their feathered friends. We also look at time it takes before the chicken hatch, so we also include in our collection items such as: incubators, thermometers, egg testers, heating system etc.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
OLBA: The poultry market is continuously evolving. We live in a world that is everchanging, and each emerging trends has even the slightest effect on different markets – including our own.
Although our core solution and the basic need of our clients are very simple; – providing a means for more easily facilitating poultry nutrition – we are seeing that even the simplest needs are prone to develop while more knowledge and insight is gathered. Education plays an incredible part in this. Through gaining education in areas such as the behavior of poultry, efficiency in nutrition, catering to scalable poultry farms and the need to provide a better environment for animals, our market is continuously demanding change to meet the current world trends.
Although this market has been there for quite a while, it is not saturated, yet on the contrary, it continues bringing new opportunities and entry points, and we are happy to see that our clients are always excited to learn more about our new products and how they are addressing the problems of the new world we are living in. Perhaps the poultry market is an excellent paradigm between the old needs and solutions merging with the fresh mindset of quality over quantity, and positive impact over inconsistent product outcomes.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
OLBA: There has been many trends in the past years, beginning with using ecological materials and using less plastic, to making automatic feeders and drinkers. We feel like the trend right now is to make the chicken and its owners lives easier. That is why we tailor our products based on the customer needs, and we make our products as complete as possible.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
OLBA: Innovation is a key element in our day to day work at Olba. We are constantly looking at optimizing products to innovate the market and bring new products. We have been exploring different options that would improve the experience of our clients, and a few topics came to mind: automated, customizable, usable.
In March, we launched a product that has gained rapid popularity with our client base, owing to its customization options. AviAqua is a poultry drinker that has a capacity of 8 liters, and has three different drinking outlets that our clients can choose from: you can choose to add float to control the level of the water, as well as having drinking cups, nipples or swing cups – and when you are not decided, why not choose all three? Any mix and match option is prone to ensure the best option for poultry hydration!
On the supporting solutions, we are bringing an addition to our catalogue: for the changing weather, and the long winter temperatures, our heating plate makes the best partner to chicken coops. It comes in different sizes, and can be customized based on size, shape and color. What we offer with this product is the option to add accessories, such as a temperature controller (for the comfort of our users), or add a cover to protect the plate from dust, dirt or chicks jumping on it.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2023?
OLBA: This year began with great results for us in terms of production, marketing and sales. We estimate that all of these results will continue growing throughout the year, as we are planning to grow our brand significantly. The market for poultry is growing more and more each year so there is plenty of opportunities to innovate the market and bring new products to the table.
Curious to know more about us and our products? Get in touch by emailing info@olba.com
