Customer experience
Customer Story: Solan Kraftfutterwerk Schmalwieser
Customer Story: Solan Kraftfutterwerk Schmalwieser
How Solan improved production capacity by 400% with their new Pegasus mixing line
Solan Kraftfutterwerk is an Austrian company that produces feed for a wide range of animals. Founded in 1911 as an agricultural trading company, it is now one of Austria's leading animal feed producers. In 2021, Solan partnered with Dinnissen for a new mineral feed production line.
In this customer story, Harald Schmalwieser, Managing Director at Solan, talks about his experiences working with Dinnissen. You’ll read:
- Why effective and precise liquid dosing was a game changer for Solan
- How Solan’s transport time per batch has reduced from 20 to 2.5 minutes with their new mixing line
- How Dinnissen and Solan continuously work together to keep optimizing the systems
Design of the Pegasus® Mixer.
“We have quadrupled our production capacity, from 3 to 12 tons per hour.”
Part of the Pegasus® mixing line at Solan.
Harald Schmalwieser on the collaboration
"For our plant in Bachmanning, Austria, we wanted to improve our existing mineral feed and premix plant. At our plant, we blend functional ingredients such as vitamins into mineral feed for pigs, cattle, and other species. Together with my highly valued partner Günther Tschurnig, we worked on a "master plan" for our facility's ideal new mixing line.
Our most important requirement for a new mixer was the ability to add liquids during the mixing process. In our old plant, we had to use a separate system for homogenizing our product, which was time-consuming and inefficient. In addition, the new line had to have options for fast and complete emptying, combined with short mixing times and variable filling quantities.”
Why we chose to work with Dinnissen
“Finding a manufacturing partner that could meet our requirements proved to be a difficult process. We compared three systems from different companies. Dinnissen is a well-known name in our industry, and we were already familiar with their reputation and qualities. But they really stood out from the other companies by gaining our trust and actively addressing our needs and requirements. And more importantly, by providing the best solution for our process. We were confident that Dinnissen would be able to realize a superior system, which is why ultimately, the choice for Dinnissen was an easy one. Trial mixes with our very different products in Dinnissen's pilot plant have been very positive."
“We always feel understood, and our feedback is always taken seriously.”
Our results are above expectations
"Dinnissen supplied us with a Pegasus® Mixer capable of mixing 600 to 1,500 kilograms per batch. The complex direct liquid addition system made it possible to add 7 different liquids to the mixing process fully automatically. This liquid addition system was a real game changer for us. We are very satisfied with the mixing quality in both homogeneity and residual emptying. And the accuracy of the liquid dosing is spot on.
We are delighted with the results; the Pegasus Mixer exceeds our expectations. We have quadrupled our production capacity from 3 to 12 tons per hour. Furthermore, we significantly improved the transport time. In our previous line, transporting a batch took 20 minutes. In this new integrated line, our transport time has been reduced to 2.5 minutes. That's an incredible 8 times faster.
In addition, the mixer works very delicately, which is important in our process to ensure that the various ingredients remain intact during the blending process. This is something we had a lot of trouble with within our previous line. We are also impressed with the design of the Pegasus mixer. It has four doors for better cleaning, making it easier for us to meet hygiene requirements.
Quick and easy cleaning is essential to us since product changes are frequent, as we produce separate small batches of different ingredients for different customers. With the implementation of new silos in our line, as well as an additional batch scale with very effective aspiration systems, we are also effectively preventing the release of toxic elements, improving the safety of our employees.”
The Pegasus® mixer line at Solan.
“Choosing a partner for a future project is a no-brainer for me: I highly recommend Dinnissen to everyone.”
Part of the Pegasus® mixing line at Solan.
Continuous support after the delivery
“However, some problems did arise when using our mixing line. When molasses is added to the mixing process, it leads to very stubborn contamination. This type of contamination can be cleaned only through dry ice cleaning. Unfortunately, this type of cleaning is time-consuming, expensive, and energy intensive.
Of course, molasses mineral feed is a product that is difficult to clean and it reacts with itself. It’s a challenging process to improve. However, the people at Dinnissen are thinking along in solving these problems. Mr. Piet van Bommel, our direct contact for this project, is committed to finding a solution, and we fully trust him. We always feel understood, and our feedback is always taken seriously. Our mixing line is not functioning at 100% yet, but no solution ever is in a process this complex. We are convinced that no other partner would have done better than Dinnissen. Therefore, choosing a partner for a future project is a no-brainer. Dinnissen would be the company I would give a call to, and I highly recommend them to everyone."