Automated Production Equipment Case Studies
See the real life impact and success APEC products have had on a variety of industries and products.
Agricultural Client Boosts Efficiency with Bulk Bag Unloader
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…
Read MoreFeed Molasses Application
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…
Read MorePowder Coating for Commercial Construction
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…
Read MoreCustom Fabricated Brackets
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…
Read MoreAutomotive Sealing Components
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…
Read MoreIntegrated Pork Operation
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…
Read MoreSpecialty Ingredient Manufacturer
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…
Read MorePharmaceutical
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…
Read MorePoultry Feed
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:…
Read MoreHorse Feed
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. …
Read MorePet Food Case Study
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…
Read MoreAqua Feed
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…
Read MoreVitamin and Mineral Premixes
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…
Read MoreSnack Food
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…
Read MoreCereal and Snacks
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…
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