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Uzwil, Switzerland -- In South Africa, making meat and animal products is an important industry. Closely related to this is the manufacture of animal feeds. Epol is one of the oldest compound feed producers in South Africa and a leader in this field. In striving to maintain its market leadership, Epol has upgraded one of its feed production plants by installing a HYSYS hygienizing and compacting system from Buhler. The new HYSYS installation operated by Epol is a first in South Africa and the biggest system of this type ever installed worldwide.
In making meat and animal products, livestock management is crucial, but so is the quality of the feeds used. Formulated feed manufacturers therefore launch ever-more complex feeds that are enriched with vitamins, minerals, and active substances. This poses a new challenge to feed producers: Formulas must be carefully fine-tuned to ensure top feed quality.
Technical leadership
The Buhler HYSYS system for hygienizing and compacting animal feeds offers formulated feed manufacturers a modular process technology that can be customized to suit the specific conditions in different countries. Epol, one of South Africa’s leading animal feed producers, was searching for exactly such a system. In the fiercely contested South African market, Epol is continuously on the lookout for possibilities to differentiate itself from its competitors through the quality of the feeds it produces by maintaining its production systems at state-of-the-art levels. Moreover, it is part of the South African company’s philosophy to adopt the leadership in launching new applications.
Reasons for buying
In early 2004, Epol decided to purchase a Buhler HYSYS installation for its production plant in Pietermaritzburg in the southeast of the country. The system it selected from the available line of modules includes a HYMIX (mixer), a HYTHERM (retention unit) with a dwell time of 30 to 120 seconds, a HYPAC DPHE-900/300 (pellet mill), and a HYMODE (control system). What mainly impressed the people in charge at Epol was the ease of selecting and varying the temperature and the retention (dwell) time through the control system.
Another benefit are the heating pads fitted to the HYMIX, HYTHERM, HYPAC, and the transitions between the individual system components. They allow the system to be heated at low cost before the start of operation. During the process, they support product heating without adding more steam – and therefore moisture – to the product. Finally, they also serve for drying the system after shut down.
Short construction time
Epol’s order arrived at the new headquarters of Buhler South Africa in Honeydew near Johannesburg on February 17, 2004. The project team faced two special challenges. The time allowed for installation was very short in order to avoid prolonged interruption of production. Then, the space available on a platform with a height of over eight meters for the pellet mill was tight. Engineering work progressed smoothly, and installation in Pietermaritzburg took only one month and a half. The plant was commissioned on October 1, 2004.
The goal was to produce 20 metric tons of feed pellets per hour on the new system consisting of the mixer, retention unit, pellet mill, and control system. This target was exceeded by a wide margin, with 25 tons of pellets an hour being achieved. It would basically be possible to operate the system at a higher capacity, but the limited throughput capacity of the existing downstream equipment will not allow this. The operators are enthusiastic about the system’s ease of operation.
The small extras such as the automatic roller adjustment feature and the automatic lubrication device are highly appreciated. Finally, it was found during the first months of operation that the HYSYS hygienizing and compacting system consumes less energy than conventional processes.
History
Epol is South Africa’s oldest animal feed producer. Set up on June 26, 1916 as Vereeniging Milling Company (VMC), the company was renamed Epol (Pty) Ltd in 1974 after substantial growth and changing its name a number of times. Epol operates a total of six feed manufacturing plants and one premix plant in South Africa. Its annual output amounts to 600,000 metric tons. The company produces feeds for poultry, pigs, horses, cattle, and rodents. The focus is on the production of poultry feed.
Epol also exports its goods – especially to other African countries, the Middle East, and the Far East. Today, the Epol company is an independent division of the South African Rainbow Farms (Pty) Ltd group, which is the country’s largest poultry producer. Rainbow Farms (Pty) Ltd, in turn, is 100 percent owned by Rainbow Chicken Limited, which is controlled by the Remgro Group.
Leading role
Epol has always played a leading role in the South African feed manufacturing industry. In 1961, Epol was the first feed producer to introduce bulk feed deliveries. Epol also founded the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA) in South Africa. Another milestone was the production of petfood which Epol pioneered. To our day, the “Epol” brand is still a well-known name standing for quality in the petfood industry, although the petfood itself is manufactured and marketed by a Swiss group.
Epol was the first feed producer in South Africa to make horse feed concentrates. Epol has retained its dominant position in the South African horse feed market, benefiting from its connections to trainers and horse breeders. Epol was also the first South African company to guarantee salmonellafree feeds. To maintain its leadership in the field of feed manufacture, Epol has installed a number of Buhler Post Pelleting Application (PPA) systems in its feed production plants. In addition, Epol entrusted Buhler with updating the control system in its largest plant in Rustenburg.
Buhler is a global Technology Group and System Partner for plant and equipment and for process expertise in the fields of Food Processing, Chemical Engineering, and Die Casting, with a worldwide payroll of about 6,100.
For more information on the “Epol” project, please contact:
Sven Lessmann
Head of Feed Business Unit
Buhler Johannesburg
South Africa
T +27 11 801 35 70
F +27 11 801 35 83
E-mail: sven.lessmann@buhlergroup.com
Web site: http://www.buhlergroup.com/
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