PET Food Processing - June 2018 - 24

PLANT PROFILE

The company's 120-ft.
Baker Perkins band oven
has a Radio Frequency
Macrowave at the end for
additional drying.

says Sam Pallottini, director, cookie, cracker and pet
food sales, RBS. "However, the Pedigree Ovens and The
Pound Bakery line is designed more robustly as pet food
has more protein and fat in it. This requires larger reinforced rolls and bigger gearmotors in both the dough
feed and forming machines. The oven is used to set and
dry the product while the dryer reduces the moisture."
Both the oven and dryer are designed to bake and dry
pet treats efficiently. The oven features top and bottom
blowers for independent air flow adjustment via recipe
control. The RBS oven is designed for air flow balance and
heat control. The key variables for baking - humidity, air
flow, temperature and heat flux - can be monitored. The
dryer has three levels, heat and airflow adjustments and enables moisture to be lowered efficiently in a small amount
of floor space. The product will start at the top tier and then
softly tumble down to the middle and bottom tiers. This
causes the product to reposition itself as it passes through
the dryer giving it full exposure to warm air. The dryer is a
key component in achieving the level of moisture or water
activity needed for shelf life requirements.
Pallottini says it was an exciting project. "Pet food
lines require long and narrow buildings. It is exciting
to see a new building that not only plans for today's
requirements but the requirements in 5 to 10 years.
Having the ability for extra space to add on another oven
zone or even add a dryer to an existing line is always a
plus as Pedigree Ovens and The Pound Bakery grows.

PET FOOD PROCESSING | June 2018 | www.petfoodprocessing.net

Existing plants will usually limit the ability for growth.
The system we provided as well as the company's other
existing baked pet food lines are designed to add extra
oven zones and dryers to increase the throughput without a large investment in the future."
Also in the baking room are a bank of small Baxter
rack ovens for wire-cut, sheeted or low pressure extruded products in small batches. These are used for products with a higher fat content, for seasonal formulas or
for test runs.
For the rotary moulders, the company has around 40
molds of which about half are customer owned. A rotary
mold can cost between $15,000 for the smaller tunnel
ovens or as much as $30,000 for the larger RBS oven. The
RBS oven is for larger volume orders. Berglund explains,
"We need about 40,000 lbs. to run continuously within
one shape to be efficient on that oven. On our smaller
ovens we like to run a minimum of 10,000 lbs. but on a
regular basis we will run smaller volumes than that."
On the rotary lines, the company produces a lot of soft
and chewy treats. Many of them with seasonal-themed
ingredients or shapes that include glycerin, molasses and
brown rice syrup that all help maintain the soft texture.
On the sheeting line, the company produces blank cookies for bakeries to decorate on-site. The company also
produces a few treat bars that are formulated to be a
complete and balanced diet.
With the larger space for the baking operations

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PET Food Processing - June 2018

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