PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 47

EQUIPMENT

CUTTING
them down to size
Equipment manufacturers present the latest options,
trends and outlook for cutting and sizing.
By Chris Crawford | petfoodprocessing@sosland.com

T

The same machines used to process human food are
sold for pet food applications as well, so pet food processors usually have similar concerns as traditional food
processors, says Mike Jacko, vice president, applications
and new product innovation, Urschel Laboratories Inc.,
Chesterton, Indiana.
"They are looking for increased throughputs, increased usable product," he says. "They want machines
that are simple to operate and maintain to decrease labor
costs. They need robust commercial cutting equipment
with a solid cutting principle they can count on throughout rigorous production runs."

Sizing solutions

Manufacturers of equipment for cutting and sizing pet
food and treats explain their latest offerings and how
they work to ensure quality, consistency and food safety.
Patrick McGady, national sales manager, Handtmann
Inc., an independently operated subsidiary of Albert
Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH with headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois, says the company's servocontrolled Handtmann VF 800/FS 510 Multi-lane
Forming Solution produces dimensionally stable skinless pet food snack sticks, bricks and bites with precise
shapes and portioning accuracy.

"It offers the product handling benefits of Handtmann's
gentle vane cell that delivers a visible premium-quality
difference while providing reliable gram-sensitive portioning accuracy," he says. "This combination is especially appreciated by pet food processors using expensive
human-quality ingredients because they can now virtually eliminate underweights safely while dramatically
minimizing overweights - all while operating within the
narrowest of min/max parameters. Our feedback is that
processors' ability to virtually eliminate rework is having a
much bigger impact than they originally thought."
Handtmann's VF 800 Vacuum Filler/FS 510 Forming
Solutions let processors change shapes quickly with
its "slip‐in" forming nozzles and touchscreen product
changes at the control panel. "Especially for pet food
snack and stick processors, the travelling knife and wirecutting options available for the VF 800 Vacuum Filler/
FS 510 Forming Solution mean one line provides all of
the flexibility that's needed when forming for a variety
of species and formulations in a variety of shapes at volumes requiring high-speed automation," McGady says.
Recent pet food cutting applications on Urschel cutting equipment include whole-muscle diced meat and
veggie dehydrated pet snacks, fabricated - extruded
and cut snacks - and high-quality cat foods using real

As pet foods and
treats adapt to
new textures and
processors look to
unique shapes to
stand out from the
crowd, flexibility of
cutting equipment to
operate consistently
across a wide range
of products is
increasingly critical.
Clextral

www.petfoodprocessing.net | September 2019 | PET FOOD PROCESSING

47
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PET Food Processing - September 2019

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