Sanigene Vehicle Washing & Disinfection System | Duncan Farms Ltd

The Sanigene vehicle disinfection system is a robust automated system which provides unrivalled cleaning power, giving you peace of mind that your biosecurity is not being breached at the farm gate. The system uses a two-stage process, first cleaning and then disinfecting the vehicle, and is built on a clever modular concept that can be tailored to the needs of the farm. Trucks entering the farm can be cleaned and disinfected within 45-60 seconds, with consistent results every time. As the threat of avian flu continues to loom large, many farms are investing in their biosecurity by installing a Sanigene vehicle disinfection system to protect their flocks and their livelihood. We recently installed a comprehensive system for Duncan Farms Limited at their Newton of Fortrie Packing Centre.

Duncan Farms Limited has a number of sites across Aberdeenshire, including a packing centre and 150,000 colony of birds based based at Newton of Fortrie, Turiff. Duncan farms has 450,000 free range commercial egg layers and 250,000 rearing birds. The busy packing centre receives up to 30 trucks a day, often from other farms in the region. Duncan Farms takes biosecurity very seriously, and the combination of high vehicle traffic, avian flu having occurred in the area, and the fact that they are housing and rearing very young birds, encouraged them to think about further tightening biosecurity measures at the farm gate. Their existing vehicle disinfection system was a manned pressure hose system at the entrance, but they had recently been very impressed by a Sanigene HydroForce 4130 and a Sanigene HydroSan 360T disinfection system that Interhatch had installed at a nearby packing centre for Farmlay.

Our free site survey enabled us to assess the power and water supply at the packing centre, as well as other factors such as high winds which might inform how we build the system. This was all factored into a bespoke design to suit the site. We recommended the Sanigene HydroForce 4130 wheel washing system with recycling tank to provide a 4m long washing unit, followed by the Sanigene HydroSan 180° disinfection gate to ensure thorough disinfection of the wheels and chassis of trucks entering the packing centre.

As the truck drives slowly into the wheel washing system, an optical sensor automatically triggers the washing process and two HydroForce immersion pumps feed water to the nozzle system. The large number of angled bottom and side nozzles ensure an intensive clean of all tyres and the entire chassis in one wheel rotation. Removal of dirt from underneath the truck is a vital stage before any disinfection can take place – we all know that you can’t disinfect mud! The truck moves through the unit and onto the disinfection stage.

We recommended our half-height 180° gate as high winds at the Newton of Fortrie site might have provided challenging conditions for our top-of-therange 360° tunnel. The 180° gate is a great costeffective solution for reducing the risk of disease entering the farm, ensuring the wheels and chassis are thoroughly disinfected. The built-in dosing system allows for variable dilution levels and heated coils ensure that disinfection continues, even when temperatures are below freezing. Trucks pass through the system effortlessly, allowing the driver to remain in the cabin.

Another bonus of the system is that the water used in the wheelwash system is recycled in a closed circuit, so no water is wasted or left to make the site waterlogged. The waste water runs via the return channel from the wash unit to the side recycling tank, where the washed-off solids settle out. The water is fed under a surge wall and over the partition wall (with sieve insert) into the pump chamber, where it is re-used. An excavator or suction vehicle removes the settled solids from the recycling tank. The system can be topped up every six months, or as needed.

The whole system took only a week to install at Newton of Fortrie Packing Centre, minimising any disruption to everyday farm operations. Product specialist Lorenzo Ingram from Interhatch was on-site with our engineers for the duration of the project, ensuring that all went smoothly. The system was thoroughly tested after installation and comes with 12 months’ warranty.

The spread of disease is the biggest single threat in the poultry industry, and vehicles travelling from farm to farm represent one of the main entry points for contamination. Protect your business by taking control of biosecurity at the farm gate with a Sanigene vehicle cleaning and disinfection system. If you’d like to chat through different options or book a site visit, please contact us at sales@interhatch.com

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