We are a company with strong roots and a long history
It all began over 60 years ago where SANOVO TECHNOLOGY GROUP was founded, and since then, eggs in both raw, fluid, and powder form have been part of our DNA.
SANOVO TECHNOLOGY GROUP, originally known as SANOVO ENGINEERING A/S, was founded by Lactosan and the Danish Tøræg Factory under the name SANOVO Levnedsmidler A/S in October 1961 in Odense, Denmark. The main target was production and trade of food, but quickly the company also decided to enter into the production of egg breaking machines.
November 1979, a new company SANOVO ENGINEERING A/S, was founded to continue the production and it became a subsidiary 100% owned by Lactosan-SANOVO Holding (today known as THORNICO).
Why the name SANOVO?
The SANOVO name is a compound of SAN and OVO:
Mr Dirk van Katwijk, founder of Van Katwijk’s Industrial, bought the company 'Libra' in Hummelo in the east of Holland and moved it to Aalten. They were a producer of machinery for the textile industry. His idea was to produce egg-grading machines besides the existing product range.
The company was founded in September 1956 and named STAALKAT.
In 2006, STAALKAT joined the SANOVO TECHNOLOGY GROUP and today it has been renamed to SANOVO TECHNOLOGY NETHERLANDS.
Why the name STAALKAT?
The STAALKAT name is a compound of STAAL and KAT
Below we have mapped some of the defining moments in our history which changed the landscape of our company and the industries we are part of.
The commercial beginning of SANOVO TECHNOLOGY GROUP starts with the first automatic egg breaking machine - SANOVO 300.
The SANOVO 400 was submitted to the USDA for approval to enter the American market.
The breakthrough came on the European market when the breaker SANOVO 400 was exhibited for the first time at the Brno exhibition in September, which directly lead to new orders. It was later showcased at the International Poultry Show in London, where it was awarded a silver medal for technical design.
SANOVO USA Inc. was established to support marketing, import, and service for SANOVO Levnedsmidler. (later renamed SANOVO ENGINEERING Inc. and today known as SANOVO TECHNOLOGY USA).
During the 1960s the planning of complete egg products plants has formed a substantial part of SANOVO’s turnover. This has involved factory projects with machinery for egg breaking, filtration and pasteurization, as well as tanks and pumps for the so-called liquid production. In some cases driers have also been included in the planning of the plants. With their know-how of machinery production the company was able to plan production in many different countries.
During 1969 the sale of machines increased to 27 counties worldwide. The production therefore needed to expand and chose to rent the premises of Haustrup-Ecko in Tolderlundsvej, Denmark near the harbour, when it made a giant leap in machinery production.
The SANOVO 400 received USDA approval.
SANOVO UK Ltd. was founded as a sales and service office in London.
The Tolderlundsvej site in Odense was expanded to 2,100 m².
SANOVO expanded sales to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Korea, Japan, and China, becoming the main supplier in many regions.
The cracked egg and globe symbol was introduced as the new logo alongside the SANOVO name.
SANOVO moved production to Thulevej in northwest Odense. The site became the headquarters until 2016.
in November SANOVO ENGINEERING A/S was founded as a 100% subsidiary of Lactosan-SANOVO Holding (now THORNICO).
The Thulevej facilities were expanded and the administration relocated there.
Further expansion added 650 m² to the Thulevej site.
SANOVO ENGINEERING celebrated its 25th anniversary.
SANOVO acquired the rights to produce a patented box dryer, using horizontal spray drying technology.
A new administration building was constructed at Thulevej.
Production and development facilities were expanded to 7,700 m². CAD workstations replaced traditional drawing tools.
SANOVO ENGINEERING ITALIA Srl. was established in Vicenza.
SANOVO ENGINEERING USA Inc. moved into its own assembly facility in Salt Lake City.
SANOVO TECHNOLOGY ITALIA became a fully owned company.
SANOVO ENGINEERING USA merged with Seymour to form SANOVO-Seymour, located in Topeka, Kansas.
Having sold equipment in Japan for more than 25 years, a sales office was established in Tokyo: SANOVO ENGINEERING JAPAN (today SANOVO TECHNOLOGY JAPAN)
The SANOVO logo was updated:
A representative office was opened in China.
SANOVO ENGINEERING USA relocated to Chicago and SANOVO ENGINEERING ITALIA moves into new buildings.
STAALKAT INTERNATIONAL (now SANOVO TECHNOLOGY NETHERLANDS) and RAME-HART joined the group.
A combined logo was introduced.
SANOVO TECHNOLOGY CHINA is established as a legal entity.
SANOVO TECHNOLOGY GROUP was formed with a unified logo.
SANOVO PROCESS SOLUTIONS was launched to distribute products such as enzymes and analysis equipment from DSM to the egg industry.
Danish production was temporarily moved to the Netherlands.
Production returned to Denmark.
The headquarters relocated to Datavej 3, Odense.
NIKRO becomes a member of the group.
An office was opened in Kuala Lumpur (now SANOVO TECHNOLOGY ASIA).
SANOVO Denmark achieved ISO 9001 certification.
SANOVO re-certified to ISO 9001:2015.
SANOVO TECHNOLOGY PROCESS was established.
Giordano Poultry Plast joined the group.
The Netherlands and Italy production units were ISO 9001:2015 certified.
A new office opened in Brazil (SANOVO TECHNOLOGY SOUTH AMERICA)
Production in Italy moved to new premises.
SANOVO received Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies Award.
SANOVO TECHNOLOGY PROCESS and ROBOTICS moved to Datavej 12.
SonoSteam and OvoTrack joined the group.
Five new company values were introduced through short videos.
SANOVO received Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies Award again.
A strategic collaboration was formed with Fornari Industry in Brazil to manufacture selected SANOVO equipment for the South American market.
The company received its third Deloitte Best Managed Companies Award.
NIKRO become full member of the group and rebranded to SANOVO TECHNOLOGY NIKRO.
SANOVO TECHNOLOGY NETHERLANDS completed a major building renovation with solar panels installed.
For the fourth consecutive time, SANOVO received Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies Award and achieved Gold Member status.
SGA 10 Spray Dryer
Launch of the brand new SGA 10 Spray Dryer model, specifically designed for small production capacities.
Reverse Osmosis for high liquid egg concentration
We developed a High Concentration plant using reverse osmosis that is fully fine-tuned for the production of high-quality egg powder. With this, we can achieve a 33% concentration rate of the liquid without compromising powder quality (as opposed to the 22% industry standard).
BreakerPro
This breaking machine is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in regards to maximizing yield. Among all egg-breaking solutions in the market, the SANOVO BreakerPro has the absolute highest yield and most effective sustainability solutions, enabling our customers to produce at world-class performance level while protecting the environment.
ProductRecovery
A prime goal for every egg processing facility is to obtain a high yield from the raw products. Every time we develop projects with our clients and partners we always seek new ways to improve the production processes. We learned that 0.5% - 1.0% of the liquid products are lost during processing, making us think, could we convert this loss into product again?
Now we are happy to present you to our solution to transform egg loss during the production phase into valuable business: SANOVO ProductRecovery.
WAVE Pasteurization
SANOVO has developed WAVE technology, a patented system which pasteurizes the egg product very close to the coagulation point, without affecting the functional properties. Thanks to the use of kinetic energy, the product is heated to a uniform temperature in a fraction of a second. The technique has proven to be extremely effective at eliminating even highly heat-resistant Salmonella serotypes, while at the same time preserving the important functional properties of the egg product.
Introduction of the OptiBreaker
During the VIV Utrecht show in 2006 the world premiere of the SANOVO OptiBreaker was released. Today the OptiBreaker is, with a capacity of 600 cases/hour, the most sold breaker in the world.
SANOVO 6-25
In 1996, SANOVO launch the first of many row egg breaking machines - the SANOVO 6-25 with a capacity of 54.000 eggs/hour. The new technology introduced a new system, where we break and separates 6 eggs at the same time in a row.
In 1996 it also receives USDA approval.
Spray Drying
SANOVO takes over the rights to produce a patented Box Dryer from Henningsen. It is constructed as a horizontal spray dryer plant in which the liquids are dried by passing through tiny jets.
Today, SANOVO is the world leading manufacturer of the horizontal box dryer technology with its own legal entity SANOVO TECHNOLOGY PROCESS. Today we dry many other products than eggs.
Automatic scanning
The separation between white and yolk had to be complete not to destroy the whipping ability of the whites. During the first years of egg breaking the separation process was done manually. Gradually, this tiresome task was replaced by automatic control using scanners.
The first introduction of an automatic scanner was made by SANOVO in the early 1980's.
Patented pasteurization
Pasteurization plants where developed to ensure bacteria- and salmonella-free egg products.
In the late 1960's SANOVO had its pasteurization method patented in several Western European markets. During the 1970's legal demands for pasteurization emerged in several countries, and from 1979 SANOVO sold and produced its own pasteurization plants.
The automatic loader
The SANOVO 2002-6 system was introduced. This system did not only include an egg breaking machine, but also the newly developed automatic loader, which could be joined to an egg washing machine into an integrated working process.
Introducing the horizontal placed cups
The SANOVO 2000 introduced the principle with a cracker for egg breaking at each of the horizontal placed cups to collect the white and yolk. This provided a longer drainage time, and the capacity could be increased to almost 22,000 egg / hour.
Long egg machine
The SANOVO 6-32 became known as the Long Egg Machine. The machine which produced egg pieces that were aprox. 20 cm. long with a regular centre of yolk surrounded by white of even thickness was a sensation at its first exhibition.
See how it is produced from a TV broadcast in Germany
Planning of complete plants
Since the late 1960's, SANOVO has been planning complete production plants. The projects has involved egg breaking machines, filtration and pasteurization as well as tanks and pumps for the liquid production and dryers for powder production.
Today, SANOVO is the only company who supplies complete turnkey solutions to the egg industry.
SANOVO 400
The SANOVO 400 was developed and in the autumn of 1968 it was awarded with a silver medal during the 23rd Poultry Show in London.
First automatic egg breaking machine
The commercial beginning of SANOVO TECHNOLOGY A/S starts with the first automatic egg breaking machine - SANOVO 300, and continued with SANOVO’s many later models of fully automated egg breaking and separating machines.
World largest egg grader
Introduction of the GraderPro 800, an innovative leap in egg grading technology, set to redefine industry standards.
Designed for industry leaders, this state-of-the-art grader achieves an unprecedented capacity of 800 cases per hour, featuring the highest capacity of grading machines currently available on the market.
Case Packer CoFlex
A significant addition to our suite of case packing solutions for grading and packing stations. The CoFlex, standing for Collaborative Robot and Flexibility, is our latest innovation, complementing the Case Packer Twin and broadening our offerings to customers in need of versatile end-of-lane packing solutions.
Visual Crack Detection
The Vision AI Crack Detector is a contactless, low-maintenance, highly accurate crack detection module based on vision technology for grading centers, so you can improve your food safety and gain full control over your egg crack detection rates.
New capacity of the OptiGrader familly
OptiGrader 450: setting elevated benchmarks in food safety, egg quality, cleanliness, sanitation, and performance!
HatchPerformance Line
Our equipment for breeder farmers combined in one complete system.
Tray Stacker SX20
The SANOVO TraystackerSX20 is a product developed to enhance farms with small/medium-sized packing operations. We know there is limited space on farms, so we design the SX20 as a space-efficient solution that stacks 30x egg trays. Through the ergonomic design, it also supports farm operators and improves their working environment.
The SX20 can be installed on the SANOVO Farmpacker 40, 70, and 24000. It can handle many common plastic trays; SANOVO recommends the EggsCargosystem® sold by GI-OVO.
Introduction of the GraderPro
The new SANOVO GraderPro handles up to market leading 800 cases/hour. With the GraderPro we introduced several new handling methods and features that secure an extraordinary gentle egg handling. Besides the gentle egg handling we are excited to give you a machine with a minimum of service required, individual egg control and a very efficient cleaning with CIP (cleaning in place).
Ardenta
In 2004 the Ardenta was launched together with a new crack system.
OptiGrader
A large sorting machine with a capacity of 216,000 eggs per hour, the OptiGrader, was developed. It was equipped with the in-house developed crack detector system. In 2019 the machine was introduced with a capacity of 254.000 eggs/hour. The machine is one of the most sold ones in the US.
Selecta 12 and 18
In 1994 the Selecta 12 and 18 row with automatic detection systems such as crack, blood and fracture detection was introduced.
In 1997 the Selecta 24 with a capacity of 180,000 eggs/hour was introduced
Farmpacker 192S
In 1993 the farmpacker 192S with a new packer alignment system, which increased the capacity of the packers to 36,000 eggs per hour was launched. The newly developed container loader was very handy at such high capacities.
IRUS
In 1989 the first semi-automatic candler was introduced - the IRUS.
ECM
In 1991 the ECM 300 was launched, a small simple sorter with a capacity of about 25,000 eggs per hour with “rolling weighing”.
Electro Compacta 200
In 1983 the Electro Compacta 200 was launched with a capacity of 72,000 eggs per hour.
Super Compacta
In 1971 the Super Compacta was launched, a small simple sorter with a capacity of 25,000 eggs per hour.
Peak absorber and the first farmpacker
The development of peak absorber / accumulator and the first farm packer.
First 12-row egg grader
The first 12-row electronic egg grader was produced and turned out to be another success for the company. As the market demanded more capacity, Staalkat kept on improving their machines resulting in the Electro Compacta in 1975
First patent and individual egg handling
In 1962 the first machines with individual egg handling was introduced - the Aviolanda. In 1964 the patent of electronical scale was submitted.
The first 6-row egg grader
The American market opened up in 1960. For this, the 6-row machine had to be developed in connection with the 6-row washer. This machine was the Rolls Royce of sorters.
In 1960, the development of automatic packaging machines was started.
Wooden frames
The first egg grading machines that came out of production were two-, three- and four-row grading machines in wooden frames. These machines were of cause without automatic loaders packers, but the weighing was done with the scale principle, which has proven its function for more than 60 years now.
