August 2, 2018
The R&D facility at our new location is officially open and scheduling appointments for testing. We have started our first production runs and happy with the added room…
April 19, 2018
The last three months have been a whirlwind of activity with the move to our new facility in Grimes, Iowa. This was no small undertaking considering we moved…
January 18, 2018
In October, Belen Cisneros, Sales Manager in South America, wrote a blog explaining the benefits and effects of extruding rice bran, which is a by-product of the rice…
June 8, 2017
Safety is often overlooked, but it is one of, if not the most important, responsibilities of the workplace. Large machinery is very heavy and consists of moving parts…
May 11, 2017
When running soybeans through an extruder or through an ExPress® system (an extruder and a press in-line) it is very important to have all the correct parameters to…
April 13, 2017
In Part I of this blog, I discussed the importance of paying attention to the way some ingredients, such as vitamins and probiotics, react to the extrusion cooking…
April 6, 2017
When it comes to extruding complete diets such as pet food, fish feed or something like pig starters that have multiple ingredients, close attention should be given to…
November 10, 2016
Having worked for a former customer, an equipment supplier’s commitment to their success means a lot because customers experience many challenges related to their equipment. Knowing that I…
October 20, 2016
In Part I of my blog series, we talked about cleaning the handling equipment prior to the extruder. That part of the line sees mostly dry cool product…
October 13, 2016
Today’s trend in the feed and food related industries calls for increased regulation with cleanliness and cross-contamination avoidance, especially where GMOs and Non-GMOs are concerned. Regulation can be…
September 1, 2016
In my 10 years working in service, I have seen plants varying in size, extruding several different products and using several different pieces of equipment throughout the process.…
August 25, 2016
In this blog I will discuss maintenance and repairs. In my next blog, I discuss the importance of cleaning and maintaining auxiliary equipment. Certain repairs can be patched…
June 9, 2016
If you own an Insta-Pro extruder with a preconditioner you know it requires maintenance. The preconditioner is a blender vessel with a main shaft and adjustable paddles designed…
June 2, 2016
When processing oil seeds, there are several variables to look at. One of the most important variables one must pay attention to is moisture because it can have…
January 28, 2016
Whether an animal feed oriented processor de-hulls their ExPress® soy or not is an economic/ strategic decision. Nutritionally, at least in swine trials, university studies show no significant…
November 5, 2015
I’ve traveled a lot over the years, but this trip was special in that it was my first start-up for our new Model MS3000 medium shear extruder. We…
September 3, 2015
As a member of the service team, I travel around the world conducting start-up training and service calls to current customers. I recently traveled to South America to conduct…
August 27, 2015
I have traveled to several countries over the last few years and have seen a big difference in the safety practices in processing facilities. Safety is a job…
