Robotics specialist Bas van Santen has been appointed by ForFarmers to the role of robotic product manager.

ForFarmers said van Santen’s appointment will further develop and strengthen its service to robotic customers.

ForFarmers UK ruminant commercial director, Greg Edwards, said: “Over recent years we have curated a specialist offering for our robotic customers.

“From robot roadshows and webinars to on-farm advice and knowledge, we have been able to provide valuable insight and expert advice to our robotic milking customer base.

“Since joining ForFarmers, Bas has had a significant impact on our robot specialist team and has been key in defining what our customers want and need from us in this area. 

“He now steps up to the robotic product manager role. With over 25 years experience in the dairy industry, he is well placed to take our robotic offering to the next level.”

Bas van Santen

Van Santen has previously spent time at ADAS, the Dairy Group and Lely, and has “extensive experience” supporting new and existing robotic installations, ForFarmers said.

During his time with ForFarmers, he has established himself as a trusted knowledge base, the company said.

“I’m delighted to be moving into this new role,” van Santen said.

“With lots of robotic knowledge already in the business, I am looking forward to increasing the rate of knowledge transfer to benefit our customers.”

In his new role as ForFarmers robotic product manager, van Santen hopes to enhance support for robotic customers through better utilisation of data.

“Data holds the key to optimising the performance of robots and maximising the productive potential of the milking herd.

“As we refine our offering, via innovations such as OptiRobot, our unique analysis program, we will be considering how we can help our customers better utilise robot data to enhance performance,” he said.