NivaRotor - Comfort for cow and human

EkoNiva has over 15 years of experience in dairy farming and prefers to use carousel systems from leading manufacturers for milking. Many years of practice have shown that each milking carousel has its advantages and disadvantages. EkoNiva's engineers weighed up all the advantages and disadvantages and, based on this, developed a milking carousel that is adapted to the needs of modern dairy farms.

The heart of any rotary is the milking machine. The NivaRotor developers succeeded in designing a reliable milking system that ensures smooth operation.

"The Milkrite InterPuls milking machine enables efficient and comfortable milking," says Alexey Losev, head of the livestock mechanization department at EkoNiva-APK Holding. "The clear selection of settings enables the right pulsation on the animal's udder. High-quality triangular liners help achieve maximum productivity while having positive effects on animal health and reducing the risk of udder diseases."

Engineers improved the carousel washing system, installed a special guard that controls milk cooling and sends sound and light signals in the event of a fault.

"We managed to improve the software for determining the amount of milk in the milk cooling tanks and to develop safe protection for the control panels from damage by animals," Alexey Losev tells us.

The developers have also thought about the people who operate the milking carousel. Their work is not as easy as it seems at first glance.

"In order for the work to run smoothly, you have to put yourself in the operator's shoes and see if it is comfortable to work on this carousel and if there is a way to increase comfort," Alexey Losev explains. "For example, we designed a platform that is 90 cm high and not 1 m high like other manufacturers. Previously, operators had to put up pallets to attach the milking machine or handle the cows' udders. The clever design now allows staff to work in peace and without distraction."

The components for the NivaRotor are sourced from suppliers of world-renowned brands such as BLOM and Milkrite InterPuls.

"Many manufacturers design milking carousels to be intentionally complicated," says Bjoerne Drechsler, board member of Ekotechnika AG. "It usually costs a lot of money to maintain such systems. NivaRotor is not only designed for comfortable industrial milking, but also means a significant cost saving. We have the possibility to buy the components directly from the manufacturer, avoiding the chain of middlemen, and sell the customer a ready-made milking system."

EkoNiva's best professionals have worked on NivaRotor. Alexey Losev has been assembling milking carousels for more than 13 years, seven of them in the EkoNiva team. He says the work is difficult, demanding and hard. It takes about three months to assemble a carousel.

"The most important investments in the project are the ideas of our talented employees, their hard work and their time!" emphasizes Bjoerne Drechsler. "The payback period is still hard to say, we are just starting to move in that direction. I think our work will pay off when we have installed ten milking carousels."

Today, EkoNiva-Tekhnika is ready to offer not only milking platforms for 36, 60 and 72 milking places, but also comprehensive service to customers: Assembly of the carousel, adjustment and operational control, maintenance and service.

"NivaRotor is already used to milk cows at the EkoNiva dairy farm 'Gusevo' in Kaluga Oblast," reports Aleksey Losev. "Another rotary milking parlor was recently installed at the 'Bortnikovo' farm in Moscow Region. Two more of our milking machines are planned for new EkoNiva dairy farms."

The leading positions in the milking machine market have been held for many years by three main suppliers: DeLaval, GEA and BouMatic.

"BouMatic left the Russian market in the crisis year of 2014 and there is still a vacancy," says Bjoerne Drechsler. "The demand for rotary milking parlors on the market is increasing every year. So we hope that we can successfully develop in this direction. Today, the market for milking equipment is 50% occupied by DeLaval, 35% by GEA and 15% by other manufacturers. In the future, our planned share of the Russian market could reach 25%. We plan to build operational dairy plants. For this purpose, we have solid experience, competent staff, our own construction company, design office and service center."