Facilities and Technology

Dibaq Petcare Dry Food Manufacturing Process

The most important phase of this process is the creation/formulation of recipes. It is carried out according to the needs of the market, with rigorously selected ingredients and a quality plan. Once the recipe is created, work orders are generated and production is planned, with a special emphasis on measuring.

The necessary ingredients are weighed and taken to the mixing area before being milled. The milling process is fundamental to control the digestibility of the mix. After milling, a second mixing is carried out before it moves to pre-extrusion storage.

One of the differentiating values responsible for our recipes’ excellent palatability is the addition of fresh meat. For this, we keep the food cold (either refrigerated or frozen) and prepare it to be added during the manufacturing phase. During this phase, all the ingredients are mixed together, and the mixture is subsequently extruded until formed kibble is obtained.

The penultimate stage of production is drying, in which we obtain formed, dry kibble.  Finally, the kibble goes to the coating line (addition of oils) and the cooling line, obtaining formed, dry, coated and cooled kibble, which is stored until it reaches the packaging and palletising line.

Dibaq Petcare Wet Food Manufacturing Process

Once the recipe is formulated, the first phase is the process of mincing the frozen and fresh meat. The rest of the raw materials (fruits, vegetables, rice, meals and additives) are added directly to the mixer together with the meat and hot water to achieve a homogeneous mixture with the desired consistency. Later, it goes to the stabilisation basin and then to the filling and closing phase.

Dibaq Petcare wet food comes in two formats: can and sausage. In the case of the can line, the cans, once washed, go through the filling and closing process. In the case of the bar line, the mixture goes through a stuffer and is subsequently stapled closed.

Both the cans and sausages, in baskets, go through the sterilisation process, which is carried out with four autoclaves.  Finally, once the product has been sterilised, it moves to the labelling, packaging, palletising and storage phases.

Dibaq Aquaculture Fish Feed Manufacturing Process

First, we must emphasise the importance of feed formulation. We start by considering the nutritional needs of the species they are for, based on scientific literature and the studies carried out by Dibaq Group itself in collaboration with public and private research centres. We also consider the characteristics of the fish farm where the feed will be used and the size of the animals that will consume it, consequently adapting the energy and protein levels and the size of the pellets to be manufactured. Next, we select the best raw materials to meet these needs, according to the nutritional composition and physical properties.

The second phase of the process is measuring and milling. Following the recipe, each raw material is automatically weighed according to the stipulated amounts.  The raw materials are transferred to the pre-mixer, where they are mixed together to improve the batch’s homogeneity. Then the milling process begins, where we always strive for a particle size of 1 mm or less in order to guarantee perfect digestibility for fish. In the case of special products to be used as feed during the initial growth stages, micro milling is used in addition to conventional milling, with special mills that achieve micron-range particle sizes. Once milled, the meals are mixed again in the mixer, where correctors and vitamin complexes are added. From the mixer, the meals move to silos for the next step in the process: extrusion.

Preconditioning for extrusion is the main stage of the process. Prior to the extrusion process, the meals are transported to the preconditioner, where the meals are prepared by adding vapour, water and oils. From the preconditioner, the meals go to the extruder, where the physical and chemical transformations of the extrusion process will take place.  At the end of this phase, we obtain extruded pellets of different sizes and lengths depending on the species and the fish-growth stage for which the feed is intended. The main difference between the extrusion process and the conventional pelleting process concerns the physical and chemical transformations that take place inside the extruder.

The drying phase consists of eliminating the excess water added during the process in the form of vapour and water. For this, the extruded pellets are placed in either hot-air fluidized bed dryers or a vertical dryer, which allows much more progressive and uniform drying, essential to ensure a high level of stability for the feed while reducing breakages and rejections during subsequent phases of the process. It also allows a high level of energy efficiency compared to conventional drying systems.

In the coating phase, the pellets are infused with different liquid raw materials of animal and vegetable origin (fish oil, sunflower oil…) to increase their nutritional and energy value.  In most formulations, we use a coating machine/vacuum mixer that, by extracting the air from the pellet, allows a higher degree of oil addition.

Finally, the product moves to the thermal stabilisation (cooling) phase.  This involves cooling the pellets in a vertical cooler through the counterflow of air from the environment itself. At this point, the pellets are transported to silos for products ready for packaging, where they are stored until the final phase of automatic packaging.

Once packaged, the finished product is taken to the warehouse for shipment.

Technology

Along with the most advanced and comprehensive production processes, we have the most innovative technology on the market.

First of all, our experience in the sector has encouraged us to develop our own technology, so we designed and manufactured some of the machinery used at our facilities ourselves under the Derwent Engineering DITECH brand.

We also continuously invest in state-of-the-art technology to make our processes more efficient and sustainable. One of our latest acquisitions is a vacuum stuffer with high production capacity of up to 6,000 kg/hr. It ensures exceptional product protection, reproducible quality, and minimal energy consumption.

We have also added a high-performance mincer to the petfood plant. Used for the processing of fresh or frozen meat with yields of up to 20 MT/hr of fresh meat, it optimises the food mincing process. It can be used to mince different meats, organ meats and frozen vegetables according to the requirements of our recipes. This allows us to achieve different textures in the final product: mousse, pâté, chunks, etc., depending on the raw materials chosen and how they are minced. This mincing variety makes it possible to offer products with better palatability, since they are more adapted to the species and the breed.

By adding this mincer, we have been able to innovate in the dry food manufacturing process, adding fresh meat in such a way that the meat is minced just before being added to the food, guaranteeing freshness and optimal processing.

Also, in the aquaculture factory, we have acquired a dryer with gravity-based, vertical-flow technology whose advantages include energy efficiency, versatility, uniform final moisture, and independent control of air volume, temperature and flow in each area. This new dryer has allowed us to manufacture new products such as feed for turbot.

More Efficient Processes

In addition, we recently added new lines that allow us to improve our production processes and offer higher-quality recipes. Among them is a drying line at our aquaculture factory, whose main equipment, in addition to a dryer, includes a transport system and a new angular bucket elevator system. Helping us to save 50% on gas and 35% on electricity compared to conventional systems, this line is suitable for a wide range of products, in which we achieve uniform final moisture. This is all because it ensures excellent control of air volume, temperature and drying time in each area in an automatic, independent way, which also improves energetic efficiency on the drying line.

Furthermore, we have acquired a complete line for the preparation and addition of fresh meat and materials during the extrusion process at our pet care factory. This installation allows the micro mincing of ingredients, reducing them to millimetre range, and enables fresh meats to be homogeneously mixed with dehydrated raw materials. That way, we can manufacture foods containing a high percentage of fresh meat and achieve a better absorption of oils and coating sauce, as well as high palatability and digestibility.

And, finally, we have improved our traditional pet food manufacturing process with a new coating line for a second product coating stage through the ‘cold’ addition of different additives, both solid and liquid.

For this new installation, we opted for a dual-axis coater-mixer with interlocking blades that ensures greater uniformity in the coating of the kibble.

The installation allows the precise measuring of seven different liquid additives and two powder additives. The addition sequence is versatile and programmable, and it can be done individually or jointly in the order required by each recipe. The installation’s productive capacity is 6 MT/hr.

This new coating line allows a marked improvement in the finish and functionality of the foods we currently produce while making it possible for us to develop new premium products. The line is designed to measure out both liquid and solid raw materials and additives once the product has been extruded and dried. It helps to ensure the correct mixing and coating of the kibble, guaranteeing an optimal level of acceptance by pets.