Automated Production Equipment Case Studies

About Prestage Farms Prestage Farms is located in West Point, Mississippi. They are in the hog industry, specializing in the production of pig feed. After decades in the business, Prestage Farms continues to hold themselves to a standard of superior quality, and that commitment extends to their processing…

Client Overview: An agricultural client manufactures a pollen supplement for honey bees, made from a blend of spices, brewer's yeast, sugar, water, and pollen. Their product creates honey bee pollen patties that look like peanut butter, which are supplied to beekeepers for use in bee…

Industry: Feed Industry Customer: Leading manufacturer of feeds for many different species. Problem: One additive that is used to enhance the flavor and nutritional value of dairy and horse feeds is molasses. Feeds for dairy and horses have fragile ingredients such as flaked corn, whole…

A large commercial construction company approached APEC with a problem. They needed an efficient, fast, long-lasting process to paint stacks and stacks of fabricated handrails safety-yellow for their industrial clients. Hiring laborers to paint the handrails using liquid paint is costly and wet paint doesn’t…

A very large egg producer in west Michigan reached out to APEC during an important expansion phase as they were developing a new hennery. They were looking for a fabrication facility that could mass-produce a single type of bracket they needed to complete construction of…

Problem: An eastern Michigan manufacturer of automotive sealing components and reinforcements was interested in finding a more accurate method to manufacture their products. Their process was entirely manual. Batching, weighing, and measuring was all being done completely by hand which amounted to waste due to human…

Industry: Animal Feed Customer: Integrated Pork Operation The Challenge A large integrated hog operation, decided to manufacture their own feed. Because of the record keeping and required precision they wanted an easy automatic way to introduce micro ingredients into their process. They had plans to automate the…

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…

Problem: A multi-national pharmaceutical company wanted to expand its operations in North America. They had a need to greatly increase their premix manufacturing capabilities at three locations in North America. Management decided that the system should be fully automated with front to back inventory control. Since…

Industry: Feed Industry Customer: Large poultry feed manufacturer Problem: A large poultry feed manufacturer was having clogging problems with their existing spray coating machine applying fat to poultry pellets. This resulted in spotty coverage of the pellets and frequent rebuilding of the pumps.   Solution:…

A manufacturer lost a large horse breeding customer because of breakage and uniformity problems with texturized feed containing flaked product, grains and pellets with a molasses coating.   The customer needed to apply the liquid more uniformly and provide a better blend with less turbulent mixing.  …

The Challenge The tumble drum coater used to add fat and flavors to their pet food resulting in higher labor and down time on the line, such as: Suspended solids caused clogged spray nozzles and poor uniformity of coatings Excessive backpressure resulted in premature failure…

A large shrimp feeding operation was successful using certain types of ingredients. The ingredients had a high viscosity with a large amount of suspended solids… and they could not find an application system to accurately and reliably apply these ingredients to the feed.   APEC developed…

Problem: A company in Mexico that manufactures vitamin and mineral premixes formed a partnership with a major pharmaceutical company. The success of the joint venture quickly increased the demand for their products and also increased the number of products that were being offered. The new…

Industry: Snack food Customer: Major manufacturer of flavored nuts Problem: The customer’s success in the area of flavored nuts caused a need to expand the operation. The system that was being used by the snack food manufacturer to coat the nuts with flavoring was messy and resulted…

Industry: Cereal and Snacks Customer: Major manufacturer of cereal Problem: The customer was working in conjunction with a major retailer to develop an exclusive product for that retailer. The product was tied to a movie promotion so the ability to make the new product in a timely…