The simple answer for this question is obviously when you feel like it isn’t working for you anymore. Here we will break down a few more specific reasons our customers have upgraded their micro ingredient system. Most often our customers list multiple of these factors, when making the decision to upgrade.
Increase Speed
Increasing speed, is one of the reasons people decide to upgrade their micro ingredient system. When your system is taking longer to weigh up, than your actual mixing time, you are losing money, time, and resources. The speed of your micro system should not be the bottleneck of your operation. It is very common, that as customers increase capacity of their mill, they eventually have to “split” their micro system from one scale into two. This essentially cuts the amount of time in half, as they are then able to weigh up two ingredients simultaneously. Depending on the condition of the bins, sometimes a large portion of the current micro system can increase in speed by only changing out the weigh hopper.
Decrease Cross Contamination
Many older systems have problems with cross contamination of ingredients. Old systems have out-of-date technology and engineering that doesn’t provide sufficient ingredient clean out. Old conveyor belt systems don’t clean out 100%, leaving trace ingredients of previous batches to be mixed in with future batches. The growing importance of Tracking & Tracing makes this problem even bigger as your ingredient tracking becomes less specific and harder to track. New micro ingredient systems have more efficient engineering for more effective clean outs between batches.
Outgrown Your Current System
Another reason that you’ve outgrown your current system is that you simply need to add more ingredient bins. With a growing demand for complex nutritional needs, your system needs to be doing the work for you. You want to make full use of your facility and employee’s time to push more batches through your mill.
Drug Reconciliation
With Lot Tracking and Veterinary Feed Directives, your facility cannot afford human error when it comes to handling drugs. With the desire to add drugs via the micro ingredient system, comes the need for reconciliation of remaining product at the end of the day. Adding weigh back bins to your system enables this to be a very easy process, as it individually weighs the complete bin and remaining content. No need for dumping out, weighing pails, or remaining bags. Just record your weights and head home!
Your Current System is Messy
While this factor isn’t typically the sole reason a facility will upgrade their micro system, it is one we frequently hear from our customers. As the title suggests, this reason is simply because old micro ingredient systems can make facilities extremely dirty as they wear out. Keeping your mill clean gives you and your employees a safer environment to work in; whether it’s air quality, slippery surfaces, or product build up - a safe environment is crucial to the success of your operation. Because the rotary design allows for tightly sealed components, compared to previous models, there is much less places for dust to escape.
Increased Usage/Too Many Bags
Maybe the problem with your current micro system is simply that you are having to refill the hoppers too often because of your increased production. Maybe a new micro ingredient system isn’t for you, maybe you just need to either add a “refill” option where a bulk bag refills the micro bins. Another option is a completely separate system with multiple bulk bags weighing into an additional weigh hopper for even greater capacity yet.
Whatever your reason, EAI has the micro ingredient or bulk bag system for you. Custom built to your facility, capacities, and inclusion rates, ensure you get the exact solution you need. Where matchless service meets practical engineering for exceptional solutions. Call us today!