Complete Feed Bag Filling Machine in Netherlands

Why the Old Bagging Section Required Extra Operating Hours

The existing feed-production equipment could supply the packaging area faster than the old filler could dispatch finished bags. The previous bagging section handled only about 6–7 T/H under the customer's normal 25 kg product schedule.

For approximately 20,000 tonnes of annual small-bag production, a 6–7 T/H packaging rate requires roughly 2,857–3,333 effective filling hours per year. Across 250 working days, that equals about 11.4–13.3 packaging hours per day. This explains why the customer regularly had to continue bagging after the main daytime production schedule had ended.

The problem was therefore not that the entire 80,000 T/Y factory had to be packed through one machine. It was that one important small-bag product stream required more daily operating hours than the existing filler could provide.

DCS-50P×2 Project Configuration

The 15–18 T/H value is calculated from 10–12 filling cycles per minute and a 25 kg target bag. It represents the filling capability of the weighing machine itself. The complete packaging line can operate more slowly if bag placement, closing, conveying, metal detection, check weighing or pallet handling becomes the downstream bottleneck.

Why Twin Belt Feeding Was Selected

The customer's main product on this line is a dry, finished complete-feed pellet. A belt-fed system gives controlled product delivery toward the weighing hopper and can reduce the sudden material surges that occur when a high-capacity line relies only on unrestricted gravity flow.

The twin-belt configuration increases filling rate compared with the single-belt DCS-50P. RICHI's current packing-machine specifications list the DCS-50P at approximately 6–8 bags/min and the DCS-50P×2 at approximately 10–12 bags/min.

This does not mean a twin-belt machine should automatically be selected whenever a factory exceeds a particular annual tonnage. The correct choice depends on the tonnes actually passing through the relevant packaging line, target bag weight and required dispatch window.

From Finished Feed Bin to 25 kg Bags

The complete pig feed is already manufactured, cooled and screened before it reaches the packaging section. Approximately 4–5 mm pellets enter a finished-product bin above the DCS-50P×2. The two belt feeders meter product into the weighing system until the target weight is reached, after which the measured feed is discharged into the prepared bag.

The filled bag then moves to the selected closing system and downstream conveyor. The actual closing method depends on bag construction. A woven polypropylene bag with liner, a laminated bag and a paper-based sack do not necessarily require the same combination of sewing and heat sealing.

The customer therefore specifies the bag itself before RICHI finalizes the closing equipment rather than assuming that every export bag requires heat sealing.

Why 20,000 T/Y Can Be Packed During the Day

At the new machine's theoretical 15–18 T/H filling capacity, approximately 20,000 tonnes of 25 kg feed require around 1,111–1,333 effective filling hours annually. Across 250 working days, this equals approximately 4.4–5.3 hours of pure filling time per day.

Real packaging operation takes longer because the line also needs bag supply, product changes, cleaning, check weighing, closure and pallet handling. Even after those factors are included, however, the new packaging section has considerably more capacity margin than the former 6–7 T/H arrangement.

This is the practical reason for the upgrade: packaging can be brought back closer to the main daytime dispatch window without claiming that one DCS-50P×2 packages every tonne manufactured by an 80,000 T/Y feed factory.

Weight Accuracy Must Be Checked with the Real Product

The DCS-50P×2 has a reference dynamic accuracy of approximately ±0.2%. At a 25 kg nominal weight, this corresponds to approximately ±50 g.

The project does not claim routine ±15 or ±25 g results. Actual performance depends on pellet flow, belt cut-off control, load-cell condition, vibration, product buildup and calibration.

The mill therefore incorporates routine check weighing into packaging quality control. When a formula or pellet bulk density changes materially, operators verify the filling parameters rather than assuming the previous setting will produce exactly the same weight behavior.

The Downstream Conveyor Must Match 10–12 Bags per Minute

Increasing filler speed can expose a new bottleneck immediately after the weighing machine. At 10–12 bags/min, one filled bag leaves the system approximately every five to six seconds during continuous operation.

The discharge conveyor, bag closer and pallet-handling section therefore need to be reviewed at the same time as the bagger. If the closing machine processes only half the available flow, the filling machine will repeatedly stop regardless of its nominal speed.

RICHI consequently checks conveyor speed, bag spacing, operator positions, closing equipment and available accumulation length before the DCS-50P×2 is integrated into the existing dispatch area.

Complete Feed Packaging Requires Dust and Cross-Product Control

Even screened pellets generate some fines during handling. The filling point therefore requires suitable dust collection and housekeeping rather than relying on a high-speed bagger to eliminate dust.

Because the wider factory manufactures several feed categories, product scheduling and cleanout are also important. The dedicated line in this project mainly packages complete pig feed, which reduces unnecessary product changes through the bagger. Where another formula is introduced, the plant follows its own carryover and cleanout procedures before packaging resumes.

The bag filling machine controls weight and product flow. It does not replace the feed mill's traceability, batch identification or cross-contamination management system.

The Netherlands Remains a Large Compound Feed Market

The Netherlands has a mature industrial feed sector supplying cattle, pig and poultry farms. A commercial factory producing approximately 80,000 T/Y is therefore realistic within the Dutch feed-manufacturing structure, particularly in the eastern part of the country where livestock production and cross-border trade with Germany are well established.

The customer's investment is based on improving dispatch efficiency rather than assuming that national feed demand is rapidly expanding. Packaging capacity has to match the volume and customer format of the individual factory even when the wider livestock market changes.

Shipping the DCS-50P×2 through Rotterdam

The Complete Feed Bag Filling Machine in Netherlands is prepared for export from Qingdao, China, with the Port of Rotterdam used as a practical container gateway before inland delivery toward the eastern Netherlands.

Before shipment, RICHI reviews the finished-feed-bin discharge, installation height, electrical and compressed-air requirements, bag dimensions, closing method, check-weigher arrangement, discharge conveyor and pallet-handling capacity. These interfaces determine whether the higher-speed filler will actually remove the existing bottleneck.

What to Confirm Before Selecting a High-Speed Feed Bagger

• annual tonnage actually entering small bags rather than total factory output;
• bag weight and required bags per minute;
• pellet, crumble or mash flow characteristics;
• finished-product bulk density;
• required weighing tolerance and check-weighing method;
• bag material and closing system;
• downstream conveyor, sewing and pallet-handling capacity;
• available daily dispatch window and current packaging bottleneck.

A Complete Feed Bag Filling Machine in Netherlands for 25 kg Bags

This Complete Feed Bag Filling Machine in Netherlands project uses one RICHI DCS-50P×2 twin-belt system for a 25 kg complete pig feed packaging line. The machine provides a reference filling speed of approximately 10–12 bags/min, equal to about 15–18 T/H at the project bag weight, with reference dynamic weighing accuracy of approximately ±0.2% or ±50 g per 25 kg bag.

The wider feed mill manufactures approximately 80,000 T/Y, while around 20,000 T/Y is assigned to this small-bag route. For another feed manufacturer evaluating the DCS-50P×2, RICHI needs the actual bagged tonnage, bag weight, feed form, bulk density, bags-per-minute target, closing method and downstream conveyor and palletizing configuration before confirming the complete packaging solution.