Dutch incubation company HatchTech Group has acquired NYtor, a developer of DNA-based tests, to expand its in-house innovation capacity.
In recent years, HatchTech has built up significant expertise in developing technologies, with a focus on the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology for sorting male and female eggs during the incubation process.
Since 2018, HatchTech’s subsidiary Respeggt has applied in-ovo sexing commercially, enabling eggs to be sold in supermarkets in several EU countries marketed as ‘free of chick culling’.
HatchTech Group said it together with NYtor had identified significant potential for high-volume, low cost-price testing in a wide range of agricultural production systems, with a focus on poultry. The acquisition of NYtor will allow HatchTech to expand and commercialise lower cost in-ovo sexing, it said.
“Our ultimate goal is to determine sex in the egg at such a low cost that it is attractive for all types of poultry hatcheries,” said Tjitze Meter, founder and chief executive of HatchTech. “By combining NYtor’s expertise in PCR with our technical experience, we can accelerate improvements and the development of many other innovations with all sorts of applications in agriculture.”
Han Zendman, chief executive of NYtor, said: “The strength of HatchTech is that it respects NYtor’s DNA and will ensure that our existing potential lines up with their hi-tech ecosystem. That mutually beneficial combination is very appealing to us.”