Swiss animal nutrition increases output with new system
Animal farming in Switzerland has changed a lot over the past decades. As the number of stock farmers grew, so did demand for feed, and so did UFA AG.
Currently the Swiss animal nutrition company produces around 600,000 tonnes of mixed feed, around 12,000 tons of mineral salts and concentrates and around 15,000 tonnes of milk powder. “The mixed feed site here in Sursee, Switzerland achieved an annual output of 25,000 tonnes in the past. Today, our annual output in 80,000 tonnes,” says Urs Kaufmann, the head operator.
New bagging system
UFA AG produces calf milk powder with a high fat content of 20%-21%, that contains a lot of lactoprotein. Consequently, the product is quite sticky. The bagging system that they had before created a bottleneck, resulting in the hourly output of 9 tonnes. However, with the help of the new system from OMLBF series by Premier Tech, the hourly output now reaches 12 tons. This new bagging system also results in less dust development and the screws enable coarse and fine dosing in one step, so re-dosing is no longer required, saving time and resources.
The new OMLBF equipment from Premier Tech features a dual spout system, which allows 2 bags to be filled at a time. The system has a throughput of 500 bags which corresponds to 12.5 tonnes. The bags have a volume of 25 kg and the bag sizes can be changed very quickly. It takes about 10 minutes to set the system to 10 kg or 20 kg bags.
Company profile
UFA AG was founded in 1998 and has existed as a brand since 1958. The company has been Switzerland’s leading animal feed company for 60 years. Under the UFA and Hypona brands, they produce and sell mixed feed, mineral salts, milk powder, specialties and services. While UFAG was founded in Sursee in 1965 for the central production of milk powder, mineral salts and specialties, compound feed production continued to be decentralized in the factories of the individual cooperative associations. Starting in 1989, these plants were gradually merged into the newly founded Orador AG, based in Herzogenbuchsee. In 1998 Orador and UFAG merged to form UFA AG.
Cleaning process
UFA AG also produces a special product called ‘top-form’ in 4 production runs every year. It is very important for the company to be able to clean the system efficiently after the production runs. “Premier Tech helped us find a solution to this problem. They made it very easy to open the dosing tanks, remove the screws and clean the entire system with water.”
With Premier Tech’s OMLBF equipment, the time required for external cleaning is as little as 15 minutes per day. This reduces soiling and thus the need for cleaning, which is an important factor in the production process.
Efficient installation
UFA AG and Premier Tech have already cooperated previously, as some of the systems at UFA’s plants were provided by Premier Tech. In Herzogenbuchsee, they installed several bagging systems. At the mineral salts and concentrates plant in Sursee they have 2 bagging systems, and at their milk plant, they installed a CPL compact palletizer 6 years ago.
Source and for more info: UFA AG
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