May 2, 2006

 

Dinnissen Process Technology introduces new feed concept Magicon
 

Press release
 

 

Adding micro-ingredients to animal feed demands the highest possible degree of precision in order to obtain the right effect in each ration. Adding too many micro-ingredients wastes valuable additives while adding too few micro-ingredients or not utilising them effectively, fails to reach the required results.

 

Magicon is a new feed concept from Dinnissen Process Technology that allows manufacturers to make and supply multi-flexible animal feed. The concept consists of a range of technical solutions which each represent an extra link in the animal feed production chain.

 

The idea behind Magicon is that feed manufacturers can easily create and produce a wide assortment of animal feed customised to suit the needs of individual customers, in both small and large quantities, within their own production facilities. In addition, Magicon is a technical concept that allows feed manufacturers the flexibility to continuously expand their feed lines and adapt processes to meet changing market needs and demands.

 

There are currently various ways available to animal feed producers who want to add micro-ingredients such as fat, enzymes, vitamins and minerals to feed pellets, such as adding heat or non-heat resistant micro-ingredients in the main blender and incorporating additives to pellets via a spray technique. However until now, these methods also unfortunately had certain disadvantages.

 

If micro-ingredients are added in the main blender, then fat, enzymes, vitamins and minerals are exposed to heat during the extrusion process. The effectiveness of the additives will therefore be partly lost. This can be compensated for by adding extra micro-ingredients, but this means higher costs and an inaccurate end product. Plus, a surplus of fats has a negative impact on pellet quality.

 

Using heat resistant additives offers a solution for this problem. They can be added to the main blender with high precision accuracy, while their effectiveness is not reduced by the influence of heat. However, not all micro-ingredients are available in heat resistant varieties, while the cost of heat resistant additives is considerably higher than the customary alternatives. 

 

Finally, adding micro-ingredients using a spray technique after extrusion or pelleting has the beneficial advantage that it does not expose the micro-ingredients to heat. The minute amounts of fat, enzymes, vitamines and minerals are often difficult to divide homogeneously over the pellets. Plus, fluids on the exterior of the pellets also cause them to disintegrate more quickly, which means losing even more essential micro-ingredients. Feed supply pipes, transport systems and bulk containers means extra energy use and additional maintenance costs for feed producers and farmers.

 

Magicon offers animal feed producers a new solution to avoid all the disadvantages mentioned previously. After the extrusion process or pelleting, the pelletised feed is placed in the vacuum coater. The feed is then sprayed with a precise dose of micro-ingredients. A vacuum environment is created through which additives are sucked into the very core of the pellets and protected against crumbling. A thin layer of fat is subsequently coated around the pellets, giving each pellet extra protection against crumbling. This additional protective layer and fixing the additives in the core of the pellets creates a stronger pellet with higher elasticity and one less susceptible to breaking and crumbling.

 

The main advantages of adding micro-ingredients using the vacuum coating technique are obvious. High precision dosing of valuable additives is now possible, without the risk of overdosing. This cuts costs and ensures higher guarantees regarding the effectiveness of the additives. As the pellets are less susceptible to crumbling, less energy is required to transport the pellets through soiled supply pipes and no vital additives are lost. Money can also be saved through less soiling in feed pipes, transport systems and bulk vehicles.

 

The vacuum coater also means that the choice is not limited to costly heat resistant additives, so many more micro-ingredients in powder or liquid form can be used instead or simultaneously. Finally, the vacuum coater allows a protective fat layer to be coated around the feed pellets, not only reducing crumbling but also giving higher energy values in the feed and preventing contamination.

 

For more information on Magicon, please contact Henri Michiels at Dinnissen (tel. +31 77 4673555).