SHOWCASE What is the
SHOWCASE What is the special attraction of this network for you? MIAVIT is a global acting supplier for the feed and pet food industry and a specialist in animal nutrition and feed formulation. The special attraction is the connection with companies which are active in another business but at the same customers. We can only learn from each other. Michael Sommer, Pet Food Division Manager Which advantages are to be expected through the PetFood Competence Network a) for the companies involved and b) for the producers of pet food? The companies involved benefit through the connection with companies which are active in another business but with the same customers. This helps us to see the customer from another point of view and to have more background for some decisions. As the network only includes experts in their own specific business field, the pet food producer benefits from the collaboration within the network. The customer can contact just one member and still be assured that the others are expert and professional. What demands do pet food manufacturers make on suppliers to this industry? Is it different for raw materials, equipment or packaging manufacturers? As a supplier of the pet food industry you should be trustful, absolute reliable and work on a professional and very high-quality level. Professional means quick response, open and transparent communication and no compromises in quality. What are the qualifications to be a successful producer of pet food? The same as the qualifications of the suppliers of the pet food industry. High quality, transparent and open communication and of course to be competitive How has the pet food market changed in the last few years? (5 to 10 years) In the last 5 to 10 years more specific feed formulations and higher quality requirements getting more important for the pet food industry. What changes have you noticed when looking at raw materials and ingredients for pet food? The diversity of the ingredients increased a lot during the last years what requires a global sourcing of many raw materials What will be the biggest challenges in the production and packaging of pet food in the next five years? The raw material sourcing. Many raw materials are not locally available and especially today you can see what happens if there is no reliability on the supply chains. From one day to another raw materials are not available anymore and the prices increased up to 100% or more in a few weeks. All of us should think about to source and especially produce more locally The REICH AIRMASTER® UKQ AIRJET is the world’s best performing cross-flow universal unit. This unique and extremely powerful system works with horizontal air flow and has been designed specifically for lying products on grids or in trays. Even with narrow floor distances and closely packed goods, a uniform air and heat distribution can be achieved with short process times using high loads. Air-dried snacks can be produced consistently on a trolley with up to 38 levels. Tobias Layer, Managing Director 30 Technology & Marketing
SHOWCASE How has the pet food market changed in the last few years? (5 to 10 years) The pet food sector is dynamic with lots of developments. Particularly in the case of reward items such as snacks, sticks or similar, there has been great growth in recent years with a wide variety of products. What trends can be seen in the ingredients and technology used? Pet owners pay more attention to sustainably produced pet food with organic and functional ingredients. Also alternative protein sources will play a bigger role. What will be the biggest challenges in the production and packaging of pet food in the next five years? The main challenge will be the realization of a resource-saving production. Therefore, efficient process solutions are essential. At the same time, new and functional ingredients place high demands on conditions during thermal processing. Eugen Jöchner, KARL SCHNELL The KARL SCHNELL Cutting System - core of the entire process Which advantages are to be expected through the PetFood Competence Network a) for the companies involved and b) for the producers of pet food? It is easier to support many startups in the petfood area. We at KARL SCHNELL are often asked about other areas, e.g. packaging. Now we can give qualified recommendations and suggest partnerships. What are the qualifications to be a successful producer of pet food? We need to identify and meet customer needs; these include high value raw materials, but gentle processing and dosing is also important, e.g. in BARF the ingredients must be processed gently. KARL SCHNELL cutting equipment is the core of the entire processing system. How has the pet food market changed in the last few years? (5 to 10 years) Pet food is usually produced in large quantities. Nowadays there is also a trend towards smaller production quantities with rapidly changing recipes and high flexibility. Our customers can also rely on the particularly robust and reliable machine park from KARL SCHNELL for these complex applications. What changes have you noticed when looking at raw materials and ingredients for pet food? Production technology? Packaging as such? There have been developments in plant based ingredients which have other processing requirements. This can affect different partners, for example in mixing and emulgation technology and the need to avoid cross contamination.. What trends can be seen in the ingredients and technology used? The use of insect proteins instead of meat proteins is a trend which is producing a lot of noise at the moment. We feel this is still currently in the experimental phase. What will be the biggest challenges in the production and packaging of pet food in the next five years? Issue 1 2022 CIP (Cleaning-in-place) and hygiene requirements have become more important in recent years. This will certainly continue. Other sustainable topics such as a reduction in water consumption, in-line production, higher flexibility and increasing energy efficiency will keep challenging us in the future. 31
