25 T/H Ruminant Feed Factory in Turkey

RICHI MACHINERY

The Upgrade Changed the Product Before It Changed the Capacity

The March 2025 inquiry came from a livestock business that already knew how to make feed. The problem was that the workshop had been built around flexible manual operation rather than repeatable ruminant-feed production. Some batches left the mixer too fine, others contained visible particle variation, and the old handling route made it difficult to hold the same recipe and pellet condition through a full production day.

The engineering discussion therefore started with the product the customer wanted to sell and use, not with the machine list.

The upgrade target was 60,000 T/Y of cattle and sheep compound or concentrate pellets from the existing site, with better control of grinding, weighing, mixing, steam conditioning and finished-pellet quality.

That target ruled out a simple machine-for-machine replacement. A 25 T/H line needs coordinated receiving, grinding, batching, mixing, pelleting, cooling, screening, dust collection and packing. Increasing only one section would have moved the bottleneck without improving the factory.

By May 2025, the process route and retrofit layout had been fixed around the existing buildings. The equipment package entered manufacturing in June, and shipment was arranged in late August so local foundation and utility work could be completed before installation.

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A 24,000 T/Y Workshop Became a Dedicated Ruminant Feed Mill

The customer operates a mid-sized livestock business in central Turkey with cattle-fattening activity and dairy-feed sales. Before the upgrade, the feed section produced about 24,000 T/Y and handled several animal-feed categories through aging equipment and a largely manual batching arrangement.

The retained operating base included:

• About 24,000 T/Y of existing feed output before the expansion
• A mixed product schedule that included poultry and pig feed but offered limited formulation flexibility
• Aging grinding equipment, basic mixing and manual weighing that limited repeatability

Four operating problems became more important as the livestock business expanded:

• Grinding variation made it difficult to keep the same particle structure from one ruminant formula to the next
• Manual dosing reduced mixing uniformity and increased dependence on operator experience
• Open transfer and feeding points created avoidable dust loss inside the workshop
• The existing process had no controlled conditioning, pelleting, cooling and screening route for stable commercial pellets

The expansion of cattle and dairy operations made those weaknesses more expensive. Purchased feed carried transport and supplier margins, while the existing workshop could not provide the consistency required for a larger internal and commercial feed program.

The final decision was therefore specific:

Convert the existing property into a dedicated 25 T/H cattle and sheep ruminant feed factory while reusing the buildings, storage space and utility access that still had practical value.

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60,000 Tons of Concentrate Feed Sets the Entire Capacity Map

The new cattle feed production line in Turkey is dedicated to ruminant compound and concentrate feed. It is not a complete TMR or roughage line: hay, straw and silage are not part of the listed formula system. The finished pellets are designed to be combined with forage at the farm according to the cattle or sheep ration.

Finished Product	Annual Output
Cattle & Sheep Compound / Concentrate Pellets	60,000 T/Y

The production schedule is deliberately simple:

• 25 T/H sustained factory output
• One 8-hour production shift per day
• 300 scheduled operating days per year, equal to 2,400 production hours; typical finished pellets are 6–8 mm for cattle feed and 4–6 mm for sheep or lamb formulas where smaller pellets are required

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The Formula Table Closes Exactly at 60,000 T/Y

The raw-material program is one of the strongest technical features of this Turkey ruminant feed mill: the listed ingredients total exactly 60,000 tons per year. Corn provides the main energy base, while soybean meal, cottonseed meal, rapeseed meal and DDGS provide the protein and by-product fraction. Minerals, vitamins and amino acids complete the concentrate formula. The exact annual closure gives purchasing and storage teams a useful planning basis: corn alone accounts for more than half of annual tonnage, while micro ingredients occupy little warehouse space but require tighter identification and dosing control. The plant therefore does not allocate bin volume simply by ingredient count.

This ingredient structure confirms that the factory makes compound and concentrate pellets rather than a complete forage ration. It also explains why the process needs accurate batching more than forage chopping or bale handling.

Raw Material	Annual Consumption (T/Y)	Process Role
Corn	37,636.1	Main energy ingredient; cleaned and ground before batching
Soybean Meal	7,525	Primary protein meal
Cottonseed Meal	6,841	Ruminant protein and fiber-bearing by-product
Rapeseed Meal	3,421	Supplementary protein meal
DDGS	3,421	Energy and protein by-product
Dicalcium Phosphate	1,026	Mineral source
Trace Elements	20.5	Micro-ingredient system
Vitamins	3.4	Micro-ingredient system
Methionine	37.6	Amino-acid addition
Lysine	68.4	Amino-acid addition
Water	Approx. 2,600 m³/year	Boiler makeup, staff use and cleaning
Electricity	Approx. 1.1 million kWh/year	Grinding, batching, mixing, pelleting, cooling and conveying

Cottonseed meal receives extra attention at receiving because moisture and flowability can vary by supplier and storage condition. It is held separately and released by batch so wetter material does not enter the mixer in one concentrated slug. Corn moisture is also checked before grinding because changes in grain condition affect hammer-mill load and the amount of steam needed later in conditioning.

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Two Pellet Mills Provide the Margin the 25 T/H Line Needs

The retrofit stays compact by keeping one high-capacity grinding route and one main mixer, then using two parallel pellet mills downstream. The equipment package avoids duplicating every upstream machine while still giving the pellet section enough installed capacity for a sustained 25 T/H factory.

Equipment Name	Completed Configuration
Pulse Dust Collectors	5 units at feeding, grinding and transfer points
Feeding Hopper	1
Screw Conveyor	1
Hammer Mill Feed Grinder	1 high-capacity unit sized for the 25 T/H line
Bucket Elevators	4
Batching Bins	8
Buffer Bin	1
Single Shaft Mixer	1 high-throughput batch mixer
Pellet Section + Finished Product Bin	2 × SZLH508 pellet mills with conditioners, 2 counterflow coolers, 1 screen and 1 finished-product bin
Packing Scale	1 semi-automatic bagging line

The single hammer mill is sufficient because meals such as soybean meal, cottonseed meal, rapeseed meal and DDGS can bypass heavy grinding when their incoming particle size is already suitable. Corn carries most of the grinding load. Downstream, the two SZLH508 pellet mills provide about 30–32 T/H of combined nameplate capacity, leaving enough margin for a 25 T/H sustained line without forcing both presses to operate at maximum load every hour. This arrangement also gives maintenance more freedom than one press sized exactly to the factory target. One pellet mill can be stopped briefly for die inspection or roller adjustment while the other continues limited production, although full 25 T/H output requires both units to be available.

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The Process Separates Grain Work From Meal Handling

The process is designed around one practical fact: not every ruminant-feed ingredient needs the hammer mill. Corn requires cleaning and controlled grinding, while suitable protein meals can move directly toward batching. That reduces unnecessary power use and keeps the grinder focused on the material that actually needs size reduction.

1. Receiving and Supplier Control

• Each incoming lot is identified by material, supplier and batch before unloading
• Corn and meals are checked for moisture, odor, visible contamination and storage condition
• Materials that do not meet the plant’s acceptance limits are held outside the production route

2. Feeding and Dust Capture

• Ingredients enter the controlled feeding hopper according to the active production order
• Screening protects the downstream grinder and batching route from coarse foreign material
• Pulse dust collection operates at the main feeding and transfer points

3. Selective Grinding

• The hammer mill uses interchangeable screens to match cattle or sheep formulas
• Corn is ground to a controlled medium particle profile instead of the very fine grind often used for poultry feed
• Protein meals that already meet the required size can bypass grinding and move toward batching

4. Automated Batching

• Computer-controlled scales weigh major and minor ingredients by recipe
• Each batch is checked against the target weight before mixer discharge is released
• Precise micro-dosing reduces unnecessary use of high-cost vitamins, minerals and amino acids

5. High-Throughput Mixing

• The single-shaft mixer handles the full line through repeated batch cycles matched to the 25 T/H schedule
• Mixing time is fixed by uniformity checks and the physical behavior of the formula rather than by the fastest possible discharge
• Oil or other liquid addition can be introduced only after the dry ingredient bed is properly established

6. Steam Conditioning and Parallel Pelleting

• A 2 T/H natural-gas steam boiler supplies saturated steam to the two pellet-mill conditioners
• Conditioning softens the meal and supports pellet durability; it is controlled for process consistency rather than described as a guaranteed digestibility increase
• Two SZLH508 pellet mills share the production load; typical finished sizes are 6–8 mm for cattle feed and 4–6 mm for smaller sheep or lamb products

7. Cooling and Fines Recovery

• Each pellet-mill route discharges to a counterflow cooler before finished feed enters storage
• Screening removes loose fines, and suitable fines are returned to the process instead of entering finished bags

8. Packing and Batch Identification

• Semi-automatic packing supports flexible commercial bag sizes for farm and distributor sales
• Finished bags are identified by formula and production batch before warehouse release

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The Existing 5,000 m² Site Was Large Enough for the Upgrade

The ruminant feed factory in Turkey occupies an existing 5,000 m² property with about 1,000 m² of dedicated production-workshop space. Reusing the site kept the project in retrofit territory rather than turning a feed-process upgrade into a new industrial construction program. The remaining site area supports raw-material storage, finished-feed warehousing, internal roads, utility access and vehicle movement. For a 25 T/H one-shift plant, that separation matters because truck unloading and bag dispatch are concentrated into relatively short daily windows.

The layout uses three retained advantages:

• Existing storage buildings remain in service for grain, meals, additives and finished feed
• The new process line runs parallel to retained site infrastructure so installation could proceed without rebuilding every utility and access route
• Receiving, grinding, batching, pelleting and packing are arranged in one direction to reduce loader and bag movement inside the property

The retrofit also keeps maintenance access around the two pellet mills and coolers instead of using every square meter for production equipment. That space is important on a 25 T/H line because die changes, roller service and cooler cleaning must be possible without dismantling adjacent conveyors.

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One Shift Keeps the 60,000 T/Y Utility Profile Concentrated

Operating Item	Completed Project Basis
Power Supply	Local grid; approx. 650–750 kW connected load and about 1.1 million kWh/year
Water & Steam	Municipal water, approx. 2,600 m³/year; 1 × 2 T/H natural-gas boiler using about 180,000 Nm³ gas/year
Working Hours	1 shift × 8 hours/day
Working Days	300 days/year, approximately 2,400 scheduled production hours
Staff Added	10 workers for production, packing, maintenance, QC and warehouse support

The upgrade reduces labor intensity without turning the plant into an unattended system:

• Operators spend less time weighing ingredients manually and more time checking bin status, batch records and equipment load
• Maintenance, pellet-quality checks and raw-material inspection remain routine operator responsibilities even with automated batching

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US$285,000 of Equipment Inside a US$520,000 Retrofit

The project reused land, storage buildings and part of the utility infrastructure, so the fixed investment is concentrated on process equipment and site integration rather than new construction.

• Main feed-production equipment package: approximately US$285,000
• Completed fixed investment: approximately US$520,000 including workshop modifications, foundations, electrical distribution, steam utilities, dust-control integration, freight, installation, commissioning and startup spares

The investment level reflects a completed 25 T/H retrofit, not a greenfield factory with new land and warehouses. Reusing the 5,000 m² property is what allows a commercial-capacity ruminant feed pellet plant in Turkey to stay within this fixed-investment level.

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Qingdao to Mersin Then Inland to Central Turkey

• Departure port: Qingdao Port, China
• Arrival port: Mersin Port, Turkey

The equipment was grouped for installation sequence rather than only for container utilization. Pellet mills, coolers, electrical cabinets and conveying components moved inland after customs clearance, and mechanical installation began once the foundations and utility connections were ready.

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Commissioning Focused on Repeatability Across the Full Shift

Startup work concentrated on four conditions that had limited the earlier workshop: particle-size consistency, batch accuracy, dust capture and pellet stability.

• Pellet durability stabilized after conditioning time and die load were balanced between the two SZLH508 presses
• Dust at feeding and grinding points fell after the five pulse collectors were balanced with the revised transfer route
• Feed uniformity improved because major and micro ingredients were weighed by recipe instead of by manual judgment
• Production planning became more predictable because grinding, mixing and pelleting now follow a defined 25 T/H capacity chain

The most useful operating rule from commissioning can be summarized in one sentence:

Stable output depends on keeping grinding size, batch sequence, steam conditioning and pellet-mill feed rate consistent from the first batch to the last.

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Turkey Has a Large Commercial Market for Ruminant Compound Feed

The project is positioned inside an established feed market rather than a niche application. A cattle feed production line in Turkey can serve beef and dairy formulas from the same core plant; for a dairy cattle feed plant in Turkey or a sheep feed production line in Turkey, the commercial requirement is not simply more tonnage; it is repeatable formulation, pellet size and delivery scheduling across several ruminant customer groups. Turkey has substantial commercial production of beef, dairy, calf and lamb feeds, making a 60,000 T/Y cattle feed plant in Turkey realistic for a regional livestock business with both internal consumption and external sales.

The market logic is more specific than simply saying feed demand is growing:

• Beef and dairy operations create recurring demand for energy- and protein-dense concentrate feeds
• Calf and lamb programs require smaller pellet options and tighter formulation control than one generic cattle feed
• Commercial buyers increasingly value repeatable pellet quality, batch traceability and dependable supply schedules

A 25 T/H ruminant feed factory in Turkey fits this structure because it can serve several ruminant applications without pretending to replace farm roughage:

• Corn and protein meals can be sourced through Turkey’s established grain and feed-ingredient market
• Local production reduces the cost and scheduling risk of moving finished feed over long distances
• 4–8 mm pellet options allow cattle, sheep and lamb concentrate feeds to use the same core factory with different dies and formulations

The project therefore sits between a farm mixer and a very large national feed complex: large enough for commercial distribution, but still compact enough to reuse an existing 5,000 m² livestock site.

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A Ruminant Feed Upgrade Should Start With the Formula Boundary

The most important design decision in this project was defining what the factory would actually make. Because the formula contains grain, protein meals, minerals and additives but no hay or silage, the line is correctly designed as a ruminant compound and concentrate feed factory rather than a complete roughage-processing plant.

Once that boundary is clear, three engineering decisions become easier:

• Use one high-capacity grinding route for corn instead of duplicating mills for ingredients that can bypass grinding
• Install two SZLH508 pellet mills so 25 T/H can be sustained without running one machine at its absolute limit
• Size batching, steam, cooling and packing around the real 60,000 T/Y product plan rather than around an isolated machine rating

That is what turns an equipment replacement into a workable livestock feed factory in Turkey.

From process redesign through commissioning, the project shows how an existing animal feed pellet plant site can be converted into a dedicated ruminant operation without rebuilding every part of the property.

For anyone planning a ruminant feed pellet production line, the useful starting data are annual tonnage by cattle or sheep product, pellet diameter, grain-to-meal ratio, ingredient moisture, operating hours, existing building dimensions and the amount of forage that will remain outside the factory.

Define the ration boundary first: is the plant making concentrate pellets, complete compound feed, or a roughage-inclusive ration?

That answer determines the correct grinding, batching, pelleting, storage and material-handling system long before a final equipment list is issued.