Tranzit Food Kft. has developed its quality management system so that it ensures the economical and efficient operation, and complies with the requirements specified in the quality and food safety policy, the relevant regulations of the Codex Alimentarius Hungaricus, the standard MSZ EN ISO 22000:2005, the international food standard (IFS), and the global food standard (BRC).
Thanks to the developments taken out, all poultry products processed in the plant of Tranzit Food Kft. are conveyed to the consumers from a production system controlled and documented “from farm to fork”.
To insure reliable and premium quality at all times, Tranzit Group has committed itself to continuous development over the past decades. As a result, the Group’s activities now encompass the complete spectrum of the goose and duck production sector, i.e. breeding, hatching, feed mixing, raising and processing, as well as sales, which allows the company to track the entire product path with the eyes of a good farmer.
We at Tranzit Group believe in developments
- Tranzit Group operates the largest waterfowl-hatchery equipped with up-to-date technology in Central-Easter Europe that is capable of efficiently providing over 50 Tranzit-owned poultry farms with one-day-old ducks and geese. In 2017, a total floor of ca. 100,000 square metres of poultry stalls have been added to the company’s plants.
- Operating its own feed mixer also contributes to the proper and professional feeding of not only Tranzit Group’s breeding geese and ducks, but also the end product-stocks. Until 2017, the feed mixer has operated with a total capacity of ca. 100,000 tons, which has been enhanced by further 65 per cent as a result of the latest investments and developments. Pursuant to the R+D in progress and repeated formula tests, the goose products produced by the Tranzit Group are free from GMOs.
- In 2004, Tranzit Group erected a secondary processing plant.
- By means of a new poultry processing plant acquired in 2017, Tranzit Group intends to keep pace with the ever changing customer demands. With this in mind, the company is committed to extend its product portfolio and plans to process 9 million chickens in the new plant in 2017.
PREMIUM QUALITY
Tranzit Group is exclusively engaged in raising and processing white-feathered young geese and geese, as well as roaster ducklings for meat. In line with that, the company only has meat-type goose stocks and neither its breeding geese nor its end product stocks are plucked.
By definition, young geese are geese aged 56-63 days, i.e. not older than 9 weeks that white feathers and weigh more than 4 kilogramms. Their fat layer under the skin does not exceed 3 mm. These geese have not yet once changed their feathers.
Meat-type geese are white-feathered geese aged 16-23 weeks that are slaughtered after three weeks of fattening. The ratio of their valuable meat parts exceeds that of young geese. They are fatter at the same time - a fat layer of 4-5 mm forms under their skin. In the fattening phase, geese are usually let out to pastures.
Tranzit Group’s young goose and goose products, as well as roaster ducklings come from a closed production process that is controlled to 100 per cent. Premium quality, richness in minerals and freedom from GMOs of the meat products are ensured by Tranzit Group’s tracking and controlling the complete product path from breeding, over hatching, feed mixing, raising and processing up to sales with the eyes of a good farmer.
GENETICS AND MASTERSTOCK
Since 2004, Tranzit Group has held its own stock of breeding geese, and since 2007 a Pekin duck parent stock, as well. Tranzit Group is exclusively engaged in raising and processing white young geese and geese, as well as young ducks. In line with this, Tranzit Group’s goose stocks are exclusively raised for meat; neither its breeding geese nor its end product stocks are plucked.
The 2 million goslings and 6 million ducklings all stem from own stocks. Both geese and ducks are hatched in Tranzit-owned hatchery in Hortobágy. As a result of a billion-scale investment into not only the stock breeding farms, but also into the keeping of end-product waterfowl, Tranzit Group doubled the size of its duck stock, thus created a substantial basis for the production of one-day old ducklings.
The hatching of goose and duck eggs in Tranzit Group’s own hatchery with an annual capacity of ca. 12 million eggs takes place in Hortobágy.
Breeding geese are held in three regions: in Cered in Nógrád County, and in Hajdúböszörmény and Szentes. Some of the stock holdings are suitable for traditional main-cycle poultry keeping, but the company also possesses a large number of holdings designed for more intensive and closed-system production. Also the investments in progress are aimed to further increase the number of spaces for breeding geese suitable for modern, multi-cycle egg production.
Duck stocks are only held in Hajdú-Bihar County: in Komádi, Hajdúböszörmény and Hajdúnánás.
Goose breeds
Own breed: "Golden Goose W”, based on the "Szentes White Goose" formerly bred by Árpád-Agrár Zrt. of Szentes. Tranzit Groups has purchased this breed and its related breeding organization earlier. Breeding work has been continuous ever since. Our goal is to steadily improve properties which show the value of the breed (prolificacy, hatchability, specific raising indexes, live weight at slaughter, slaughter yield, etc.). We possess proprietary Elite stock of genetic class I, class II grandparent pair stock, and class III parent stock. The basis of our breeding work is pure-blood breeding, without the use of external genetic material.
Purchased breed: "Lippitsch” medium-heavy goose. Its breeder is Eskildsen Gmbh. in Germany. We purchase relatively small amounts of genetic class III parent pair stocks.
Duck breeds
Cherry Valley Medium: medium-large breed bred by Cherry Valley Farms Limited in Great-Britain. Egg production is single-cycle, with a duration of 48-50 weeks. The parent pair stocks are purchased each year from the breeder. Though our experience in master duck breed raising goes back only a few years, our goal is to create conditions for intensive egg production and to test other breeds and to put them into production.
WATERFOWL KEEPING AND MANAGEMENT
Feeding
Feeding a goose is in many aspects different from feeding poultry. By nature, goose is a grazing bird that likes grasses. It needs large amounts of high-fibre feedstuffs, that the bird consumes depending on its taste and the quantity and protein-content of forage combined with grasses and weeds. It is the structure and function of the digestive system of the goose that sets it apart from other classes of poultry. Its oesophagus is relatively long, and extends into the spindle shaped crop that serves as a reservoir for food storage. Its gizzard is able to grind and crush the food with ca. two times the pressure that the gizzard of other poultry develops. Therefore, the goose feeds coarsely ground forages by crackling and granulated fodder.
For the purpose of efficient and professional foraging, Tranzit Group integrated feed mixing into its activities. The plant purchased in Nyírbátor produces feed mixes for all phases of breeding and raising waterfowl. The modern, computer-controlled system and professional expertise of Tranzit Group ensure a secure background for the high quality of forages and an absolute freedom from GMOs.
With a view to enhance production capacity, in the first half of 2017 Tranzit Group expanded its production plants by acquiring a feed mixer, a fodder silo and a cereal fodder drying plant, as well as increased the feed mixer’s annual capacity of over 100,000 tons by further 65 per cent.
Hatchery
Tranzit Group purchased the hatchery in Hortobágy in 2010. The annual capacity of the hatchery being available for receiving and hatching goose and duck eggs are under permanent extension by way of investments. As part of a long-term development program, Tranzit Group has created a modern, industrial-scale hatchery. This hatchery has been dimensioned to the needs of the company, so that it can be operated economically and safely. Therefore, it continuously provides a secure base for the end products on sale.
Flock Management
Tranzit-Ker Zrt. performs its goose and duck raising activity mainly at its own waterfowl farms, the floor of which has been extended by a total of 100,000 square metres of poultry stalls. As a result of a billion-scale investment into not only the stock breeding farms, but also into the keeping of end-product waterfowl, Tranzit Group doubled the size of its duck stock, thus created a substantial basis for the production of one-day old ducklings. The end-product raising farms are located in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County – primarily in the region of Fehérgyarmat -, Hajdú-Bihar County, and Hajdúböszörmény, as well as in Nógrád and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén counties. Raising farms exclusively produce white, unplucked meat-type geese. Meat-type geese are produced in two phases: after 3-4 weeks in the brooder, geese are transferred to grow to market weight under either intensive confinement conditions or extensive range-type conditions.
PROCESSING
Primary Processing
Tranzit Group owns more than 50 poultry farms Over the past years, an own processing plant, a hatchery and a feed mixer have been added to the sectoral infrastructure.
Processing occurs in the plant in a closed system and under fully controlled circumstances, in the course of which quality inspections are repeatedly taken out with a view to ensure food safety. Tranzit Group warrants that all its goose products are free from GMOs.
The current annual capacity is sufficient for producing, processing and selling 2 million meat-type geese and 7.5 million roaster ducklings. The annual volume of goose and duck meat processed in the modern processing plant accounts for 36,000 tons. With this production volume, Tranzit Group is a major player of not only the Hungarian, but also the international waterfowl, i.e. goose and duck, market. A major part of the premium products, the company exports to Germany, Austria, Great-Britain, France, Slovakia, Denmark, Spain and Italy in Europe, and to Japan, Hong-Kong, Singapore, Canada and South-Africa overseas.
With a view to extend its product portfolio, Tranzit Group acquired a poultry processing plant (a chicken slaughter house) in 2017. In the new plant, the company plans to process 9 million chickens in a year.
Tranzit Group’s products are sold in the export target countries partly under its own brand “Goldenfood” that has been existing since 2007, and partly under private labels of major retailers with the veterinary ID number HU332.
Secondary Processing in a Modern Roasting Plant
Processing has been further upgraded with the launch of a secondary processing plant in 2014 that is intended to produce convenience products in response to the ever increasing demand of consumers. These convenience products, the manufacturing of which employs significant manpower in addition to the motorized processing, include halved-roasted boneless duck and goose, and marinated goose breast.
Product development at Tranzit Group never halts! Your remarks and ideas, if communicated, are welcome and highly appreciated!
