Maassluis, 15 August 2012 – In 1992 Lely introduced a groundbreaking novelty in farming: the Lely Astronaut milking robot. Dairy farmers around the world acknowledge this as the most important invention of the twentieth century in their business, enabling them to establish a leading position in their sector. More than 15.000 Lely Astronaut milking robots have already been sold.

As the best way to show the success of this unique concept, Lely is celebrating this twenty years milestone at its customers. Lely plans worldwide open farm days to put the milking robots in the limelight on 31 August, 1 and 2 September 2012. In many countries farmers will promote this event and open their doors to invite prospect farmers. The visitors can discuss the benefits of robotic milking with their colleagues and how working with the robot has changed their lives and the life of the cow. The program and the look of the open farm days will be the same all around the world.

Like all Lely dairy solutions the Lely Astronaut milking robot has been developed from a clear-cut starting point: the cow. The robot guarantees the highest achievable milk quality while its unique management tools ensure that the farmer has full control over his herd, 24/7.

You can check the open farm days on www.lely.com/20yearsroboticmilking.

About the Lely Group
Lely, founded in 1948, directs all its efforts towards creating a sustainable, profitable and enjoyable future in farming for its customers. Lely is the only company worldwide to supply the agricultural sector with a complete portfolio of products and services ranging from forage harvesting to automated feeding systems, barn cleaners and milking robots. Lely is also working on business concepts to ensure energy-neutral operations in the dairy sector. Since many years Lely is the undisputed market leader in the sales and service of automated milking systems. The company has a strong position in forage harvesting products and with over 60 years acquired knowledge in the agricultural cycle Lely has an unrivaled position. The Lely Group is active in more than 60 countries and employs some 1,600 people. The annual turnover is around 500 million euro. More information: www.lely.com.

For further information, please contact Els Versluis, International Marketing and Communications Manager Lely Group, eversluis@lely.com, + 31 (0)10 59 96 500.