The Issue
A chemical manufacturer heard about APEC’s Mistcoater, which had been used for many years for applying fats and flavorings to animal feed and pet food, and approached APEC about the possibility of using the same machine for their enzyme product. The customer had developed an enzyme that when added to animal feed, reduced the amount of phosphate that was found in the manure, which lessens the possibility of water and soil contamination. The enzyme also made it possible to reduce or eliminate other additives, since the animal was able to naturally metabolize the ingredients found in the feed. This in turn, would lower the cost of the feed. The enzyme had to be applied very consistently and would be applied to the feed at rates as low as .006 percent or 50gr per ton.
The Solution
APEC’s technical staff set up an experimental system at APEC and ran the additive under various conditions. The customer then sent the samples to a lab for analysis. The results came back that the Mistcoater was capable of applying the additive at very low rates that were within the requested parameters. The customer worked with APEC on the design of a system that could be easily installed in a feed mill so that the customer could realize the benefits of the ingredient as quickly as possible. APEC provided a system that measured the flow of the feed by weight, and dispensed the flow of liquid by weight. This system was fully automated so that it was easy to use and provided the end user with a complete solution.
The Result
As a result of the success of the project, APEC partnered with that customer and together they provided this system to most of the integrated feed manufacturers in the U.S.
