Van Aarsen International is a world leader in the realization of animal feed facilities and complete factories. On the Swedish East Coast Van Aarsen built a new factory for Kalmar Läntman for the production of poultry, cattle and pig feed.
This new facility replaces two older factories so now only one team of operators is needed. At night only one operator is present. He can make any adjustments on the spot with his tablet with Wi-Fi connection. This ultra-modern factory can produce a hundred tons of feed per hour thanks to its five separate production lines. Moreover, for future expansion, the installation of a sixth line has been taken into account. The existing infrastructure, comprising supplied by ship, and raw material storage was fully connected to the new factory.
Raw materials
Raw materials are supplied in various ways. Trucks with raw materials are unloaded into an intake pit. Minerals such as limestone and salt are blown into the storage silos through pneumatic transport. Micro ingredients such as vitamins come in big bags. Liquid raw materials such as soil oil, linseed oil and molasses arrived in tankers at this terminal. The heated liquid storage tanks are located in insulated areas in three different temperature zones. The raw materials are carefully checked for foreign objects using a magnet system and a cleaner. The 52 raw material silos are set up for weighing, each with their own dosing weigher. All components of a recipe can be dosed simultaneously. Resulting in 30 batches an hour of 4 tonnes each. for small ingredients there are separate weighers in each production line. Because all silos, bins and mixes are equipped with weighing facilities, the operator can at any moment see where which raw materials or finished products are in the process, as well as keeping an eye on actual stock levels.
Hammer mills & mixers
The raw materials are ground in the hammer mills and stored in the dosing silos. The cassettes with the screens can easily be moved for maintenance or for replacing the Hammers. For certain chicken feed products the recipe is not transported through the hammer mill but through a roller mill. Not only the hammer Mills but all driving gear over 15 kilowatts is fitted with energy efficient frequency controlled electro motors. In combination with automatic screen exchange the raw materials can be ground to any desired feed structure. Dust and any sparks from the Hammers form a potential explosion risk. The bins after the hammer mills are equipped with explosion relief. Moreover at several locations in the process sensors have been fitted for spark, temperature and smoke detection. Valves in the circuit close automatically and the machinery is switched off after detection. Safety has also been attended to in other ways, there is for instance a water extinguisher system present in the stairwell
Pelleting
The next step in the production process is pelleting, pressing the mixture into pellets. The unique die change system allows fast die change for the production of the various pellet diameters. After pelleting the product is cooled. The coolers have been constructed in a double deck configuration for speedy products change over.
The air for the cooling system is sucked in from the outside, via the extremely fine HG PA filters. As the winters can be very cold in Sweden the outside air is preheated as necessary. The used cooling air is cleaned using filters and blown out via the roof. The dust in all the transport systems and silos is also continually being sucked away. the air quality of both incoming and outgoing air is carefully monitored using dust particle meters. Compressed air is used for cleaning the filters and operating the slides and valves. The entire building is fitted with a central exhaust system, enabling all areas to be kept dust free.
Crumbling & coating
If required, the pellets can be crumbled for instance for chicken feed. The pellets and crumbs are sieved in order to free them of dust. The sieved dust is returned to the pressing system but can also be discharged if required. In order to prevent the accumulation of dust outside the production process all silos bins and machinery have rounded corners and beveled ribs and cables are mounted above each other to minimize dust retention. To be able to add extra liquids each production line is fitted with a pellet coater. Liquids which are not resistant to high temperatures can also be added by coating.
Bulk loading
The end product goes to one of the 96 finished product silos. There are three loading lanes for bulk trucks. Each loading station has a double robot wire for maximum speed and flexibility. Automatic samples are taken from each product so that the quality and composition of the feed delivered can also be verified afterwards.
The new Kalmar Läntman factory in Sweden is another proof of the innovative power of Van Aarsen.
After all it is a Van Aarsen project!