How do you efficiently transfer sensitive nutrition powders from bulk bags to your packaging line without compromising blend integrity? That’s the challenge faced by an Australian animal nutrition manufacturer whose carefully formulated premixes contain vitamins, minerals, amino acid powder, enzyme powder, and specialty additives. These products support optimal livestock growth and health, and make product integrity absolutely critical in their powder handling system.
Livestock nutrition challenge: Replacing problematic auger conveyor
The company’s Brisbane facility, which consolidated two plants into one site for greater efficiency, needed to automate bulk premix transfer from bulk bags directly to their vertical form fill seal machine (VFFS). Their existing auger conveyor based powder handling system was creating multiple operational problems that needed to be corrected, including:
- The manual and semi-automated material handling process was problematic for plant operators from both efficiency and product quality standpoints.
- The auger conveyor was affecting blend integrity and reducing overall operating efficiency.
The site manager was looking for a way to:
- Eliminate difficult cleaning protocols that extended downtime
- Reduce product residue and costly waste
- Prevent blend separation and preserve nutrient ratios
- Provide vertical transfer capability
- Improve operator safety
- Achieve consistent, controlled flow to the packaging line equipment
- Ensure future scalability to accommodate increases in throughput or changes in product type
- Integrate seamlessly into the packaging line with a compact, space-efficient conveying solution
- Acquire a complete, ready-to-install system for fast and efficient commissioning.
The company already knew Floveyor’s machinery and equipment performed well in their plant. Their facility operated multiple aero-mechanical conveyors (AMCs) and screw feeders in upstream processes. Based on their positive experience, the site manager contacted Floveyor through Brisbane-based partner Metric Engineering to explore solutions for the packaging line application.
Moving to a fit-for-purpose powder handling system design
Following initial consultation, which included site assessment and solution modelling, Floveyor recommended a complete bulk bag unloading system consisting of a bulk bag unloader, screw feeder, and a Floveyor F4 AMC from the Elementa product range.
Why the Floveyor AMC was selected
Floveyor’s AMC with FloDisc® Technology provides a fully enclosed system that controls dust, prevents product contamination, and ensures safe, efficient transfers at any elevation. The conveyor is designed to minimise downtime, prevent ingredient separation, and allow complete batch transfers with easy cleaning between different nutrition powders.
The AMC was ideal for handling the diverse materials used in livestock nutrition production because it:
- Maintains the blend integrity of sensitive amino acid powders and enzyme powders
- Provides gentle conveying action to prevent degradation of specialty additives
- Offers fully enclosed, dust-free operation for food-grade manufacturing standards
- Enables quick purging with limestone for rapid product changeovers
- Delivers minimal product retention compared to auger systems
- Provides a compact footprint with vertical conveying capability
- Delivers consistent throughput rates required for efficient packaging operations
- Enables easy maintenance with minimal consumable costs.
Why the Elementa F4 was chosen
The Floveyor Elementa is designed for food and pharmaceutical applications where hygiene and gentle handling are paramount. Floveyor’s Elementa F4 met all the conveying requirements for the sensitive nutrition powders used in livestock feed manufacturing, while being able to maintain the throughput required for the project. The Elementa F4 provides seamless integration with downstream packaging line equipment.
The Floveyor solution
The new powder handling system from Floveyor consisted of:
- Elementa F4 with a flexible connector for a dust-tight connection.
- Screw feeder provides controlled discharge from the bulk bag unloader and flow regulation to match packaging line requirements.
- Reusable bulk bag unloader using massage paddles with pneumatic controls for complete bag discharge and an electric vibrator on the rear of the enclosed spout chamber.
The solution also included spare rope and bearings to ensure ongoing reliability.
New bulk material system provides controlled, gentle flow
The new Floveyor system handles multiple packaging formats efficiently:
- 8kg bags: 10-15 bags per minute – 4,800-7,200 kg/hr (10,560-15,840 lb/hr)
- 2kg bags: 40 bags per minute – 4,800 kg/hr (10,560 lb/hr)
Premix powders are discharged from bulk bags into the screw feeder for controlled feed, then the AMC gently conveys the materials to the VFFS machine. The fully enclosed system eliminates dust emissions while maintaining the precise nutrient ratios essential for livestock nutrition applications.
Elementa range improves efficiency and maintains product integrity
The Floveyor Elementa F4 met the challenge of replacing a problematic auger conveyor system with a hygienic, efficient solution. It dramatically improved material handling while maintaining blend integrity and enabling faster changeovers.
The new Elementa F4 enabled the nutrition manufacturer to:
- Achieve seamless integration with existing packaging line equipment
- Slash cleaning time between product changeovers using limestone purging
- Eliminate blend separation issues that compromised product quality
- Reduce product residue and waste of valuable specialty additives
- Improve operator safety by eliminating manual bag handling and reducing dust
- Maintain gentle handling of sensitive amino acid powder and enzyme powder
- Service the conveyor with minimal maintenance requirements.
Elementa range delivers proven performance for nutrition powder applications
The livestock nutrition manufacturer experienced improved packaging line efficiency by moving materials more reliably in shorter timeframes. The installation required minimal site modifications to integrate with existing equipment, demonstrating the flexibility of Floveyor’s powder handling system solutions.
The success of this bulk bag unloading solution has positioned the facility to meet growing market demand while maintaining the product quality standards their customers depend on for optimal livestock nutrition outcomes.
Using a Floveyor in your nutrition powder handling
If you’d like more information about Floveyor’s powder handling system capabilities for packaging line applications, get in touch. We’re happy to discuss your requirements and can work with you to develop a safe, efficient powder handling system for your operation.