Pet food manufacturers face strict safety, sanitation, and consistency requirements, particularly when applying fats and flavorings during processing. In this case study, APEC worked with a pet food producer to replace traditional tumble drum coating equipment with an enclosed, automated pet food coating system designed to reduce downtime, improve uniformity, and address common recall and safety risks.
Challenges in Pet Food Processing
The customer experienced multiple operational and safety challenges using traditional tumble drum coaters to apply fats and flavorings to pet food.
Coating Consistency and Equipment Reliability
Suspended solids in the coating material caused frequent spray nozzle clogging, resulting in poor coating uniformity and inconsistent product quality. Excessive backpressure also led to premature pump and valve failures, increasing maintenance requirements and downtime.
Safety Risks and Sanitation Challenges
Atomized liquid escaping from open drum ends created slipping hazards and required constant cleaning of the surrounding area. In addition, limited access and excessive drum length required personnel to enter the equipment for cleaning, increasing safety risks and sanitation concerns.
Automated Pet Food Coating Solution
APEC worked with the customer to implement an automated pet food coating solution using the APEC Mistcoater, designed to fit within the available footprint while addressing safety, sanitation, and coating consistency challenges.
Enclosed Mistcoater Design
The APEC Mistcoater is a fully enclosed coating system that applies liquid fats and flavorings using spinning disks instead of traditional spray nozzles. This design eliminated issues related to nozzle clogging and reduced the release of atomized liquids into the production environment.
Improved Access for Cleaning and Maintenance
Full-length access doors provided easy access to all areas of the machine, simplifying cleaning procedures and reducing the need for personnel to enter confined spaces during sanitation activities.
Results of Automating Pet Food Coating
Reduced Downtime and Improved Safety
Downtime required for cleaning the surrounding production area was virtually eliminated, along with the associated slipping hazards. The enclosed design improved overall plant safety while reducing labor required for cleanup.
Improved Coating Uniformity and Long-Term Adoption
Coating uniformity was significantly improved as fats and flavorings were evenly atomized using the Mistcoater’s spinning disk technology. Based on these results, the customer replaced all existing tumble drum coaters with APEC Mistcoaters and incorporated Mistcoaters into their new facility.
Explore additional APEC resources for product sheets, guides, and case studies related to pet food processing and automation, or contact APEC today to learn more about designing an automated pet food coating solution for your operation.
