Stay ahead of the competition and optimize your production process with minimal color and shape contamination.
Brand Insights from KSE
Times are changing, and so is the pet food industry. As a pet food manufacturer, it’s key to stay ahead of the competition by adapting to the latest developments. We’ll discuss the latest trends in the pet food market and how to adapt to the market demands.
Higher quality demands for pet food
The first trend that stands out is the increasing demand of pet food customers. People are spending more time with their pets and value them more like true companions in general and due to social distancing regulations of course. Because of the desire to keep their buddy happy and healthy, pet food standards and requirements are higher than before. As a result, you see more customer-based products in the pet food market such as customized products, extra recipes, and new brands. This means pet food production needs more raw materials, more recipes, and more variety in batch sizes. As you can imagine: this requires a great amount of flexibility. For example, flexibility is especially needed when different kibbles are used in the end-product and need to be transported to a wide variety of packaging lines.
Focus on food safety
Another very strong upcoming trend is the importance of food safety. This is a result of the increasing demands of pet food customers and corresponds with eliminating the risk of cross-contamination. Responsible pet owners pay careful attention to what they feed their furry friends and want to know what specific ingredients their pet food contains. Therefore, a transparent supply chain where traceability of ingredients is possible at all times is essential. This way you know what’s happening in every part of the process and when necessary, you can react to it. Consequently, a contamination-free system and complete track & tracing in the process are desired. With this kind of system, pet food brands can guarantee the same quality kibble over and over again.
Innovation is key
Innovation is crucial to adapt to these trends when it comes to pet food production. KSE’s smart solutions are developed to respond to this market demand. They optimize performance, increase productivity and reduce costs. For instance, KSE’s ALFRA BUVM is a weighing mixer for blending and dosing, and all of that on the move to save precious time. It loads trucks cleanly and quickly with much less product damage and contamination than conventional chain or belt conveyors. It collects large volumes of a finished product (meal, pellets, flakes, dry powders, granulates, and other fragile products) and blends the ingredients while they are on the move.
For finer components, the ALFRA FCD is particularly suitable. This system is engineered for accurate micro component dosing and weighing. With two weighing scales in one hopper (Weigher-in-Weigher) it can dose quantities up to 150 kg but also has a weighing accuracy of 1 gram. It safely doses rarely used ingredients like dry powders, granulates, and pellets that can spoil if they remain in the silo for too long. As you can see, the ALFRA FCD is very versatile and a great addition to any pet food plant.
Want to know more about the ALFRA BUVM and FCD or other KSE smart solutions and what they could do for your plant? Come visit us at booth #1318 during the Petfood Forum Event and we’d love to provide more information.