40-45T/H Animal Feed Mill Plant in Thailand

Project Genesis: Why They Built This Plant

The client came to us through an introduction at VIV Asia in Bangkok. They're a mid-sized integrator—not as massive as CP or Betagro, but significant in the central plains region. They had been buying feed from third-party mills for years, but with the volatility in raw material prices and the new import regulations on "burn-free" maize from neighboring countries, they decided control was better than convenience.

Here's the situation they explained to me during the first meeting: they had:

• 2 million broilers on contract farms
• 8,000 sows (farrow-to-finish)
• 500,000 laying ducks (a big deal in Thailand—they're the world's largest exporter of duck products)
• 200 hectares of freshwater ponds for tilapia and snakehead

That's a lot of mouths to feed. They were spending over 600 million baht annually on purchased feed. The math was simple: build their own animal feed mill plant in Thailand, capture that margin, and control quality from raw material intake to final pellet.

The animal feed factory project was planned in phases. Phase 1 (what we did) was 240,000 tons/year. Phase 2 would add another 150,000 tons and likely a pet food line. But first things first.

Site and Layout: Working with Tropical Reality

The site is about 14,000 m² in an industrial park in Saraburi. Good highway access to the north (for raw materials from the grain belt) and south (for delivery to farms). The layout had to account for the wet season—May to October you get serious rain, and humidity is brutal on hygroscopic materials like soybean meal.

Total built area: ~10,574 m²

One thing we insisted on: all raw material and finished goods storage had to be fully enclosed. In this climate, open storage invites mold and mycotoxins. The client initially pushed for cheaper open-sided sheds. We showed them the math on spoilage losses over five years. They built the enclosed warehouse.

Production Lines and Throughput

This isn't a single-line plant. It's five lines sharing common pre- and post-processing equipment but configured for different species. The annual target is 240,000 tons, running 350 days/year, two 8-hour shifts. That's about 34-35 tons/hour average, but lines can spike higher.

Equipment List: What We Installed and Why

Total major equipment units: approximately 130

Raw Materials: The Thai Reality

Total: ~241,000 tons/year

Process Flow: Following the Material

For Poultry and Swine Lines (Pelleted Feed)

1. Grain Intake: Trucks dump corn at the receiving pit. It goes through the rotary screener and magnet to remove trash and metal. Then to the silos.
2. Grinding: Corn and wheat are ground in the hammer mill crusher machines (160 kW). Screen size depends on the recipe—piglet feed needs finer grind than duck finisher.
3. Batching and Mixing: Ground grains go to the scale hoppers. The system weighs out grains, then adds meals (soy, rapeseed) and micro-ingredients (lysine, minerals). The twin-shaft paddle mixer machines (TDYHS4, 30 kW) blend a batch in about 90 seconds. Uniformity is <5% CV.
4. Conditioning and Pelletizing: Mash goes to the conditioner, where steam (from the central boiler) adds moisture and heat. Then into the pellet mill (CPM3020-7, 160 kW). Die selection depends on species—duck feed might be 3.5mm, pig grower 4.0mm.
5. Cooling and Screening: Hot pellets (80-85°C) go to the counterflow cooler (TDXL28x28). Ambient air pulls up through the column. In 15-20 minutes, they're within 5°C of ambient. Then the rotary screener (TDHFS.1500) removes fines, which go back to the mill.
6. Coating (Optional): Some recipes get post-pelleting liquid addition—fats or enzymes. We have a batch coater for this.
7. Storage and Loadout: Finished pellets go to the finished product warehouse (1,980 m²) for bagging or bulk truck loadout.

For Aqua Line (Extruded Floating Feed)

1. Ingredients are ultra-fine ground (TDCWF150, 160 kW) to <300 microns.
2. Mixed with water and steam in the twin-screw extruder conditioner. Extruder cooks at 120-150°C under pressure.
3. Dough exits die and expands—flash evaporation creates the porous structure that makes it float.
4. Goes to the belt dryer (TDHG27/16F, 130 kW) to bring moisture down from 22-25% to 10-12%.

Utilities: Keeping the Lights On

Total electrical load: approximately 2.3 MW

Environmental Controls: Thai Regulations

• Dust Control: 8 pulse baghouse filters serving different zones (receiving, grinding, mixing, pellet mills, loadout). All collected dust pneumatically conveyed back to the process. One 15m stack for centralized exhaust.
• Odor Control: Grinding and pelleting generate some odor (heated grain smells). Building under slight negative pressure, exhaust through baghouses.
• Wastewater: No process wastewater (moisture leaves as steam or in product). Staff facilities: 50 m³ septic tank (three-chamber). Kitchen: grease trap. Truck wash area: concrete pad with oil/water separator, then to industrial park treatment plant.

Project Economics

Operational Learnings

The Good

• Fast twin shaft mixers
• Stable extruder performance with local ingredients
• Effective distributed dust control

The Challenging

• High humidity affecting meal storage
• Variability in corn moisture
• Administrative paperwork for burn free corn certification

What We Would Do Differently

• Larger fat storage tanks
• More surge bin capacity
• Larger laboratory space

Market Context

Thailand's compound feed market is projected to reach about 9 billion USD by 2031, growing at approximately 5 percent annually.

• Poultry accounts for about 45 percent of feed demand
• Swine production is recovering after ASF
• Aquaculture is growing at about 6.6 percent CAGR

Final Thoughts

The client selected RICHI Machinery because we understood their production goals, raw material realities, and operational environment. Our engineering team worked closely with them to design equipment that could handle tropical ingredients and maintain consistent throughput.

If you are considering building an animal feed mill plant in Thailand for poultry, swine, aquaculture, or multi species production, our team can help design the process, select the equipment, and deliver a complete solution tailored to your market.