Company Profi le
By Andrew Mounsey
Biochem is a private company, based in the town of Lohne in North West Germany, which specialises in the production and distribution of feed additives. Originally founded in 1986 as a trader of agricultural commodities by Eckhard Thölke, it quickly evolved towards meeting the demand in Germany and elsewhere in the EU for more technical products, and changed from being a pure trader, to a distributor and ultimately a manufacturer of additives. Today, nearly 70 per cent of the company’s turnover is in-house production of the own product concepts. Feed Compounder editor Andrew Mounsey spoke with Dr Alexander Grafe, General Manager of Biochem to find out more about the company which, well- established in Germany and elsewhere, is now beginning to achieve greater recognition and rapid growth in the UK and Ireland.
Biochem’s product portfolio of feed additives, marketed under the 4FEED!®
banner, includes probiotics and prebiotics; organic minerals,
both trace and macro; betaine products; enzymes; toxin binders; emulsifiers; and organic acids. Customers range from large key accounts such as large multi-site compounders and international premix manufacturers through commercial feed producers of all sizes, as well
as livestock farmers. At the farm level, products are marketed under the Farm Concepts banner, with combinations of liquid, gel, paste and water soluble powder products designed to meet various health challenges facing modern animal husbandry. Depending on the local market, these may be sold direct onto farm, via a distribution partner, or specifically formulated and own-branded for individual trade customers. For a number of years, Biochem has also worked with farmers
in several EU countries to collect excess colostrum from which they produce a powder containing up to 30 per cent immunoglobulins. This well-researched product is sold as an ingredient for inclusion in young animal diets for piglets, calves, lambs and goats Dr Alexander Grafe joined Biochem in 2000 as Product Manager
for organic minerals. The company’s move into distribution of technical feed additives such as prebiotics and probiotics was by then well underway, having started in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, it was Denmark’s ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters in feed which added impetus to the company’s growth in this new area. It was clear which way the wind was blowing; step by step the portfolio was expanded and research was undertaken to develop products and improve application in order to ensure their efficacy. Alexander’s role grew over time to include some of these other additive groups until, in 2011, he became the company’s General Manager with overall responsibility for sales and the development of new markets. The company was the first to import organic minerals into the
European Union from the United States. “From the very beginning,” says Alexander, “we took the approach of making the utilisation of nutrients as efficient as possible, which means lowering the use of minerals but
Left: The Biochem Management Group (l to r): Heiko Greimann, Eckhard Thölke and Alexander Grafe
FEED COMPOUNDER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 PAGE 35
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