smaXtec 2020 round-up
A turbulent year 2020 is coming to an end. It was a year like no other. We all faced great challenges. But together we made the best of it. For this reason, we at smaXtec would like to review this somewhat different year.
2020 will be remembered by all of us as a year with great uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the economy, but also on the daily lives of all of us. At smaXtec, despite the adversity, we have maintained a certain normality and continued to provide our customers around the world with valuable information about their cows. In this article, we would like to look back with you at the most important events in the smaXtec year 2020.
Introduction of the unrivalled smaXtec TruRumi™ technology
Constant progress is our mission. And so, in mid-September 2020, the time had finally come: we added another valuable parameter - rumination - to our cow-understanding system. The measurement of rumination directly in the reticulum is unique and enables an unrivalled accuracy that is only possible with smaXtec. This not only extends our pioneering role in the field of health monitoring of dairy cows, but also enables our customers to detect oestrus even more precisely and make calvings even easier.
We can proudly say that 3 years of research and development have paid off!
Our customers are also enthusiastic about the further development of the smaXtec system.
"smaXtec is great. I am very satisfied with it. The measurement of rumination completes the system and makes it an all-round package," says Daniela Schönberger, smaXtec customer from Germany.
smaXtec direct sales now also in Ireland, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand
In spring 2020, we enthusiastically started with direct sales in Ireland, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. In order to offer our customers an even better service and to be able to act flexibly, we decided to serve these markets directly. Since then, a lot has happened, and we are proud to have successfully set up regional teams in a short time and to have further advanced the distribution of our system
New managing director and another investment round
In 2020, further important steps for expansion were taken. Right at the beginning of the year, Dr Stefan Scherer was appointed as the second Managing Director of smaXtec. Since then, smaXtec founder and CEO Stefan Rosenkranz and Stefan Scherer have been managing the company together. 1 million cows "under monitoring" is the jointly defined goal.
"I joined to combine the enormous technological advantage with an even more effective sales strategy.” - Dr Stefan Scherer.
Another important step was the financing round at the end of the year. We received another 3 million euros in growth capital to reach the next milestone.
Agrarfuchs award for smaXtec TruRumi™ technology
Even though AGRARIA Wels, a trade fair in Austria, was postponed to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, awards were still presented for particularly innovative products. An independent jury of experts selected 6 lucky winners from 87 entries at the beginning of November. Among them was smaXtec. We received silver in the category "Animal Welfare and Health" for our innovative smaXtec system with TruRumi™ technology.
"Precise data on ruminating activity is crucial for assessing the feeding quality and health status of a dairy cow. The TruRumi™ technology developed by the smaXtec animal care GmbH provides exactly this information," said the jury, explaining their decision to award smaXtec with the silver medal. We are delighted to have won this special award!
The smaXtec team is growing
We are particularly proud of the constant growth in our team. In 2020, our team at the headquarters in Graz as well as internationally has continued to grow. Today smaXtec employs around 60 people.
But also, in 2021 we are still looking for ambitious talents to reach the next milestone.
Successful implementation of numerous online events
Even though almost all trade fairs and events in 2020 were cancelled, we did not let ourselves be stopped and organised online events together with partners such as landwirt.com and the network Digitale Landwirtschaft. Numerous interested farmers listened to our smaXtec experts and asked questions to reference farms. Stay tuned for more digital events in 2021.
New smaXtec Airstream
What to do when there are no trade fairs? Exactly, travel around the country with a mobile exhibition stand. The smaXtec tour in the UK starts mid-January. The smaXtec trailer will then also find its way to Germany and Austria. Our smaXtec experts are organising Corona-compliant informational events on farms and other hotspots all around Europe. Would you like to come along? We will be happy to inform you about the next events.
Multiple new smaXtec testimonials
"Health monitoring pays off. Since using the smaXtec system, cell counts have dropped below 90,000," says dairy farmer Stephan Stork from Germany.
We are very proud to have won a large number of our customers as reference farms again this year. You can find the testimonials on our testimonial page and the latest testimonial videos on our YouTube channel.
This was a small insight into what is happening at smaXtec. We are very proud to have successfully mastered 2020 despite some hurdles and are looking forward to an exciting year 2021.
We wish you and your families good health and all the best for 2021.