CORPORATE PROFILE | GENETICS, ANIMAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION
With more than €5.5 billion in revenue, over 28,000 employees and more than 300 active subsidiaries, the Wesjohann family group is one of the most influential — and least publicly recognised — players in the global poultry industry
Following the announcement of exclusive negotiations to acquire the French group Olmix, it is worth taking a closer look at exactly who the buyer is. Because EW Group GmbH — standing for Erich Wesjohann Group — is, in all likelihood, the company with the greatest influence and the lowest media profile over what happens on a poultry farm anywhere on the planet.
A family holding company headquartered in Visbek, Germany
EW Group is a German family holding company headquartered in Visbek (Lower Saxony), founded in 1999 and led by its founder, Erich Wesjohann, together with his sons Dirk and Jan Wesjohann and Albert Cordts. The group encompasses more than 300 active subsidiaries operating in the upstream segments of the agri-food value chain: poultry and plant genetics, animal health, diagnostics, nutrition and hatchery technology.
The group currently employs more than 28,000 people and generates annual revenue in excess of €5.5 billion, well above the €3.97 billion reported for the 2020/2021 financial year. The geographical distribution of revenue is genuinely global: approximately 36% in Europe, 32% in North America, 12% in Asia and nearly 20% in the rest of the world.
| «Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 million of the world’s 7,000 million laying hens come from EW Group breeding programmes. One in every three hens in production carries ‘Wesjohann DNA’.» |
Origins: the 1998 Wesjohann split
The group’s origins lie in the former Lohmann-Wesjohann Group, managed by Paul Wesjohann and Heinz Lohmann. In 1997, brothers Paul-Heinz and Erich Wesjohann acquired 100% of the capital. Barely a year later, in 1998, the brothers decided to go their separate ways: Erich retained the poultry genetics, mushroom and grain trading businesses, while Paul-Heinz took the slaughterhouses, nutrition and pharmaceutical operations — the seed of today’s PHW Group, owner of Wiesenhof. In 2006, Erich rebranded his share as EW Group GmbH.
What EW Group controls within the poultry sector
The group’s poultry brands, each with full operational independence, are names that any industry professional recognises without hesitation:
Broiler and turkey genetics — Aviagen Group
Acquired in 2005, Aviagen is the world leader in broiler genetics. Under its umbrella sit the Ross, Arbor Acres, Indian River, Rowan Range, Specialty Males programmes and, from 2017–2018, Hubbard (incorporated following the acquisition from Groupe Grimaud). In turkeys, Aviagen Turkeys — formed through the merger of B.U.T. and Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms — is the only operator running independent selection programmes on two continents, marketing the Nicholas, Hockenhull and B.U.T. lines.
Layer genetics
EW Group concentrates four independent and simultaneous selection programmes: Lohmann Breeders (Germany), Hy-Line International (USA), H&N International (Germany) and Novogen SAS (France, incorporated in 2022 together with its Dutch partner Verbeek).
Animal health — Vaxxinova
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Nijmegen (Netherlands), it produces vaccines and veterinary medicines for poultry, swine, cattle, aquaculture and companion animals, with facilities in more than 10 countries.
Diagnostics — Hygiena (with BioChek and Biotecon integrated)
Hygiena, acquired in 2021, operates in more than 100 countries through over 180 distributors. It is the group’s arm in One Health diagnostics, food safety and poultry diagnostics (BioChek).
SPF eggs — VALO BioMedia
Producer of SPF eggs for vaccine manufacturing and pharmaceutical research, with six sites.
Animal nutrition — EW Nutrition
Feed additives for animal and human nutrition. This is precisely the division alongside which Olmix would be integrated — while maintaining full operational independence — following the transaction announced on 4 May 2026.
Automation and incubation — AAT and Innovatec Hatchery Automation
Agri Advanced Technologies (AAT, founded in 2015) and Innovatec (Asperen, Netherlands) develop in-ovo sexing for laying hens, sorting and vaccination machines, and feed and egg disinfection solutions.
Processing and egg products
In 2015, EW Group acquired a stake in the Dutch group Plukon Food Group, one of Europe’s largest poultry processors. EIPRO (incorporated in 2019) produces liquid, frozen and pasteurised egg products for the European foodservice, retail and horeca sectors. Pilzland completes the division with mushroom production.
| «A family holding company, headquartered in a rural locality in Lower Saxony, with a high impact on the poultry sector and a low media profile.» |
EW GROUP: key figures of the giant of giants
| EW GROUP — KEY DATA | |
| Headquarters | Visbek, Lower Saxony (Germany) |
| Founded | 1999 (spin-off from the Lohmann-Wesjohann group) |
| Founder | Erich Wesjohann (with his sons Dirk and Jan Wesjohann on the board) |
| Subsidiaries | +300 active companies worldwide |
| Employees | +25,000 (2025 data) |
| Revenue | +€5,500M annually (2024/2025) |
| POULTRY GENETICS | |
| Broiler | Aviagen — Ross, Arbor Acres, Indian River, Hubbard, Rowan Range, Specialty Males |
| Turkey | Aviagen Turkeys — Nicholas, Hockenhull, B.U.T. |
| Layers | Lohmann Breeders, Hy-Line International, H&N International, Novogen |
| OTHER KEY DIVISIONS | |
| Animal health | Vaxxinova (vaccines and veterinary medicines) |
| Diagnostics | Hygiena (with BioChek and Biotecon) |
| SPF eggs | VALO BioMedia |
| Animal nutrition | EW Nutrition |
| Technology | AAT and Innovatec Hatchery Automation (in-ovo sexing) |
| Processing and egg products | Plukon Food Group, EIPRO, Pilzland |
| Aquaculture | AquaGen, GenoMar, AquaAmerica |
| Plant breeding | Planasa (225 fruit and vegetable varieties) |
Beyond poultry
The group has diversified aggressively without abandoning its logic of “controlling the start of the chain”:
- Aquaculture — AquaGen (salmon and trout, Norway, 100% since 2013) and GenoMar (tilapia, acquired in 2017), with expansion in Brazil via Aquabel (2016) and AquaAmerica/AquaPorto (2020).
- Plant breeding — Planasa, integrated in 2023, with 225 registered varieties of blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, garlic, asparagus and avocado, eight operational centres and approximately 4,000 employees.
- Grain and agri-trading — Magdeburger Getreide GmbH (MGG) for grain storage, trading and processing.
| «The real ‘muscle’ of EW Group lies not in any single pillar, but in having simultaneously taken a position in genetics, animal health, diagnostics, nutrition and hatchery technology. An upstream vertical integration that few competitors can replicate.» |
A giant “integrator” of poultry industry giants
EW Group exemplifies, better than almost any other company, the ultimate model of upstream vertical integration in animal protein: control of genetics, animal health, diagnostics, nutrition and hatchery technology, all in the hands of a single family. When an operation such as Olmix enters the perimeter, the question many competitors ask is not whether the acquisition strengthens the group, but how much negotiating power remains for the rest of the European poultry market — veterinary companies included — in additives, phytogenics and natural health solutions.
| «EW Group is no ordinary group: it encompasses more than 300 subsidiaries, employs over 25,000 people and generates more than €5.5 billion in annual revenue. And almost no one outside the industry knows its name.» |
To find out more:
-. News on EW GROUP
-. Company news on NeXusAvicultura
-. Mergers and acquisitions in poultry
Want to stay one step ahead in poultry?
Subscribe free to our eNewsletter and receive a weekly selection
of the best information to anticipate trends, stay up to date and grow as a poultry professional.
NeXusAvicultura: Vision, Insight, Quality and Context.