9 June 2023 ‘That carton of milk in the supermarket, we contributed to that’

As product manager for milking robot M²erlin, Jan has a connecting role within Fullwood. ‘I come into contact with a lot of people. On the one hand, I gather information from the market. Finding out what our dairy farmers want. And on the other hand, I am constantly liaising with my colleagues from logistics, purchasing, support, product development and marketing to see how we can keep improving our milking robot. Within Fullwood, this is an ongoing process and my role is to connect all the strands that contribute to it, so to speak.’

The latest development: FULLSENSE

One of the ongoing developments in which Jan is currently closely involved is the new software called FULLSENSE. A tool for the M²erlin milking robot that turns complex data into information with which dairy farmers can easily make smart decisions themselves. Instead of having to work out the correct meaning of data yourself, FULLSENSE does that for you automatically. A development Jan talks about with pride.

‘If we look at what dairy farmers want today, a large part of it is convenience. Machines have to work. Full stop. That sounds very simple, of course, but you are talking about so many details that are important. About electronics, software, data, troubleshooting and so on. But also about ease of operation and smart data provision.’

‘We have therefore developed FULLSENSE in such a way that you don’t need any training to understand the system, but that everyone can use it immediately. It’s so logical that it is self-explanatory. These are great innovations that will allow us to continue to meet the needs of dairy farmers.’

Applying the latest technologies

As a farmer’s son, Jan knows what it is like to be a livestock farmer and what challenges are involved. Making work easier for those businesses by applying the latest technologies is something that continues to fascinate him. ‘Robotisation is such a great thing. In all sorts of areas, you are on the cutting edge of technology. I like that very much. In the past, the switch to robotisation was a big decision. Should we really do it? We now live in a world in which farmers cannot run their businesses without robotisation. You are also working with something very tangible. That carton of milk you walk past in the supermarket, we contributed to that.’

Not only professionally does Jan feel right at home. Also in terms of atmosphere and team spirit, Fullwood is a great place to work. ‘We really are a team. All of us, each within our own field of expertise, want to deliver a good machine to our customers. I really feel that energy within our company. And the nice thing about it is that you work with all kinds of people with different backgrounds and different areas of knowledge, so you are very much involved in the latest possibilities and keep up with them. Lines of communication are short and we know how to find each other easily. There is a very informal, approachable culture.’

The role of AI

Looking to the future, artificial intelligence (AI) will play a bigger role in the further development of robotisation in dairy farming, Jan expects. ‘We face the challenge of making the provision of information to the dairy farmer as easy as possible so they can quickly make the right decisions for the business. We can also start using AI for this, to help interpret data.’

‘These kinds of possibilities offer plenty of opportunities for further development. But on the other hand, we also face challenges. Like the supply of parts being under pressure and stricter sustainability requirements… Or in other words: we continue to need enthusiastic experts who want to take on those challenges with us.’