Plastic versus Polyester

Choice of materials determines lifespan. Calf hutches made from plastic or polyester: What will you choose? At first glance, they might seem similar. Yet there is a world of difference. Arjan Harbers, Sales Manager at VDK Agri, explains why the company consciously chose polyester as the material for their VDK Agri hutches.

“I visit a great many dairy farms in the course of my work, and I come across calf hutches made from both plastic and polyester. From what I see, it’s clear that our decision to use polyester is a truly solid investment. While polyester is a bit more expensive, it's a much harder material with an extremely long lifespan. It is extremely resistant to weather conditions such as sun and rain. As a result, our hutches have an incredibly long service life. And if something does break, polyester is much easier to repair than plastic.” According to the Sales Manager, however, there are even more advantages to the polyester hutches from VDK Agri.

The polyester that VDK Agri uses to manufacture its hutches is equipped with a special smooth white coating. This coating gives the hutches an ideal finish and ensures they remain easy to clean over time. What's more – unlike plastic – the coated polyester has no pores in which pathogenic micro-organisms can hide. Studies also show that, when combined with the coating, the polyester reflects solar radiation. Harbers: “This means that our hutches hardly retain any extra warmth in the sun and the chance of calves overheating is many times smaller than with PE (polyethylene) plastic hutches. The white colour also allows you to see at a glance whether a hutch is clean or not – not the case with grey hutches. Even when you look at VDK Agri hutches that have been in use for thirty years, you can see the exterior is still sparkling white after a good scrub.