Feed Mill Project Procurement: From Tonnes Per Hour to Comparable RFQ

A 20 t/h mill running four recipes is a different machine from a 20 t/h mill running forty recipes with medicated batches and strict carry-over limits. Batch size, mixing time, changeover and flushing, and the die changes required by pellet diameter all eat into the nameplate. Specify the recipe portfolio and the shift pattern, and the real capacity requirement emerges.

• Tonnes per hour and tonnes per year, by product family, plus shift pattern and seasonality.
• Recipe portfolio: number of formulas, medicated products, carry-over limits and flushing regime.
• Process route: intake, cleaning, grinding (hammer or roller), batching, mixing, conditioning, pelleting, cooling, crumbling, coating, bagging or bulk load-out.
• Pellet quality target (PDI) and the conditioning, steam and die specification implied.
• Raw material logistics: truck, rail, vessel or bag intake; silo capacity in days of cover.
• Automation and traceability: batching accuracy, recipe management, lot traceability, ERP interface.
• Utilities: boiler and steam quality, connected kW, dust extraction, ATEX zoning and fire protection.

• Steel structure, tower, civil works and silos — supplied by whom, designed to which code.
• Capacity guarantee basis: which recipe, which raw-material specification, which moisture and PDI.
• Dust, explosion protection, ATEX classification and fire-detection scope.
• Boiler and steam plant — very often excluded and very often decisive for pellet quality.
• Automation layer: PLC only, or full batching and traceability software with licences and support.
• Erection: supervision only versus full installation, and who supplies local labour and cranage.
• Spare parts, die and roller shell wear programme, and local service response time.

Illustrative planning scenarios built from standard published parameters. Not client cases, not quotations, no outcome implied.

1. 01
   Illustrative A — Integrated feed mill for an in-house livestock operation

   Sized from the group's own consumption plus growth headroom, rather than from a market forecast. Scope covers intake and cleaning, grinding, batching and mixing, conditioning and pelleting, cooling and crumbling, bulk load-out with a small bagging line, plus silo cover in days. The RFQ fixes the guarantee recipe, target PDI, batching accuracy and medicated carry-over limit.

2. 02
   Illustrative B — Aqua feed extrusion plant

   A different process to pelleted livestock feed: fine grinding, preconditioning, extrusion, drying, vacuum coating and cooling, with sinking or floating specification and oil inclusion level. The RFQ must state species, pellet sizes, durability and water-stability requirements, because those drive the extruder, dryer and coater selection more than tonnage does.

3. 03
   Illustrative C — Premix and concentrate plant

   Low tonnage, high accuracy. The design problem is micro-dosing accuracy, cross-contamination control, dust containment for active ingredients, and traceability documentation. The RFQ specifies weighing tolerances at the smallest dose, cleaning regime, and the quality-system documentation required for the destination market.

1. 01
   Define

   Tonnage, recipe portfolio, site, raw-material logistics and timeline in writing.

2. 02
   Calculate

   Independent CapEx range plus a cost-per-tonne model including energy and labour.

3. 03
   Structure the RFQ

   Guarantee recipe, PDI target, battery limits, exclusions and acceptance criteria.

4. 04
   Research capability

   Manufacturers assessed on comparable capacity, process route and export experience.

5. 05
   Compare

   Normalise scope, surface exclusions such as steel and boiler, review TCO per tonne.

6. 06
   Financing readiness

   Documentation completeness checked before external financing conversations.

Every stage is human-reviewed. No automatic matching, and no introduction without approval by David or an authorised team member.

• It is not a manufacturer, an EPC contractor or a feed producer.
• It publishes no supplier directory and sells no rankings.
• It does not lend, broker finance or approve credit.
• It guarantees no supplier, price, delivery date, capacity, PDI or FAT/SAT outcome.
• Formal review and supplier research generally apply from roughly US$250,000 of installed value.