Production process

Production process

VDM Diervoederfabriek B.V. has consciously opted for pressed granule dog food, in the purest form, without using additional steam during the pressing process. This means that due to the choice of ingredients, their composition and preparation, the addition of liquids, the creation and application of their own unique premixes, and the pressing process of this homogenous flour mixture, they have created a fully balanced, high-quality dog food. This makes the granules very appealing to dogs. Due to the resistance in the moulds, the temperature reaches above 80°, which kills any salmonella that may be present.

From the bulk trucks, the ingredients are received and stored in silos. To create a particular type of dog food, the right amount is dispensed from the silos and weighed, according to the recipe. These are then transported together to one of the storage bunkers via an elevator and chain conveyer. The total mass is then dropped into one of the mixers. After that, a premix is added. While mixing, the required liquids are dispensed and added to the flour mixture. After the required mixing time, the mixture is moved into a waiting bunker above the press via conveyers. The mixture stays here for some time to allow it to ripen. Via a dispense-conveyer mechanism it is dropped into the press where it is pressed into morsels.

After the pressing procedure, the morsels are dumped into an elevator via a conveyer band for optimum inspection, to the cooler. The cooler is required take the heat, created by the friction in the press, out of the morsels, and reduce their temperature to the ambient temperature. This is done by ambient air, according to the counter flow principle, by sucking air through a layer of morsels in the cooler and exhausting it out via a filtration unit.

The cooled morsels are led via a rotating vibration screen to separate all the grit and small particles out. Via several conveyers, the morsels are then stored in one of the several finished products silos.

On demand, the morsels are, again via a rotating vibration screen and metal detector, conveyed to an automatic bagging unit, where the morsels are packaged into 2, 5, 10 and 20 kg bags. A pallet machine ensures that the bags are piled neatly into rows. The pallets are then placed into the positions with a forklift, to await order pickup for domestic and foreign customers.