Munters FoodTech, the livestock and horticulture division of Sweden’s Munters, is rolling out a new commercial brand, Speria, designed to unify its climate control hardware, sensors and analytics into a single operational platform.
Speria is already being deployed in live production environments, offering early insight into how integrated climate and data systems can reshape day‑to‑day farm decisions.
According to Simon Cohen, executive vice president of business development at Munters FoodTech, the results are tangible.
Early deployments are showing measurable improvements in feed conversion efficiency, mortality reduction and emissions intensity, he told AgTechNavigator, alongside faster return on investment driven by lower feed and energy inputs.
Replacing manual processes with real‑time forecasting
The initial focus of Speria’s deployment has been on addressing long‑standing inefficiencies in livestock operations – particularly around data collection and decision‑making.
“Even in very sophisticated operations, critical variables like bird weight are still managed surprisingly manually,” Cohen said, pointing to reliance on hand weighing, spreadsheets and operator judgement.
This approach can introduce inconsistency and delays in decisions that directly affect feed planning and processing schedules. Speria aims to replace those workflows with continuous, data‑driven forecasting.
At the centre of this is Sonar, an IoT platform that aggregates real‑time farm data into a unified analytics environment.
“In live deployments, when you replace manual estimation with continuous forecasting, the impact is immediate and measurable,” Cohen said. “Customers are already seeing double‑digit improvements in prediction accuracy, validated across multiple production cycles.”
From better data to better outcomes
The improvements go beyond data accuracy. By intervening earlier and with greater confidence, operators can make more consistent decisions across the production cycle.
“That improvement doesn’t stay in forecasting,” Cohen said. “It translates directly into better feed planning, more consistent production outcomes and improved feed conversion.”
In one example, Speria removed up to 40 hours per week of manual weighing, freeing up labour without replacing workers.
“That time goes back into animal welfare,” Cohen said. “That’s where AI creates value today – by supporting faster, more consistent decisions in mission‑critical workflows.”
Across deployments, the result is less waste, better timing and more predictable performance, with knock‑on impacts for both cost and sustainability metrics.
Fast payback driven by core cost drivers
Munters says producers are seeing relatively rapid returns from Speria deployments, driven by improvements in core economic levers.
“These improvements directly impact feed use, labour efficiency and operational consistency,” Cohen said, noting that ROI varies by region and input costs but follows consistent patterns.
Feed – typically the largest cost in livestock production – is a key driver. Improvements in feed conversion efficiency can significantly reduce cost per unit of output, while more predictable outcomes reduce variability across sites.
Energy savings, particularly in climate control systems, provide an additional lever.
A shift in how farmers upgrade operations
Speria also reflects a broader shift in how livestock operators approach investment.
Rather than replacing infrastructure, producers are increasingly looking to connect and optimise existing systems.
“What we are seeing is a shift in how producers think about upgrading,” Cohen said. “Instead of replacing systems, they are connecting and improving what they already have.”
By combining hardware with analytics and software, Speria allows incremental upgrades without large capital expenditure – potentially reshaping the balance between capex and operational efficiency gains.
Closing the loop between data and environment
A key differentiator for Munters lies in its control of both the physical environment and the analytics layer.
This creates what Cohen describes as a “closed‑loop system”, where real‑time data feeds directly into models that adjust environmental conditions.
“The integration between hardware and software enables higher accuracy, faster feedback cycles and more consistent performance than fragmented systems,” he said.
In practice, that integration translates into:
- Improved feed conversion
- Lower waste and emissions
- Earlier detection of issues
- More consistent production outcomes
Step‑by‑step toward automation
Despite the use of AI, Munters is not positioning Speria as a fully autonomous system – at least not yet.
Currently, AI plays a decision‑support role, providing guidance within workflows while operators retain control.
“We see the industry moving in stages – from visibility, to intelligent optimisation, and eventually toward more autonomous execution,” Cohen said.
Automation will evolve gradually, he added, driven not just by technology but by structural pressures including rising costs, labour shortages and the need for more predictable outputs.
“This is not about fully autonomous farms overnight,” Cohen said. “It’s a step‑by‑step journey where trust, proof and real operational impact come first.”
Early proof points for a broader shift
For Munters, early Speria deployments serve as proof that integrating data, analytics and environmental control can deliver measurable gains in complex, real‑world livestock systems.
In an industry where marginal improvements can translate into significant financial and environmental impact, the early results suggest that data‑driven optimisation is moving from theory into practice.