1.1-1.3T/H Shrimp Feed Crumble Maker in Saudi Arabia

The Customer – A Shrimp Farmer Who Wanted to Integrate Forward

Ahmed is not a feed engineer. He's a farmer. He knows water quality, stocking density, disease management. But he didn't know the first thing about extrusion, drying, or crumbling.

What he did know: he was paying 5.8 Saudi riyals per kg for imported crumbles (about $1.55 USD at the time). He calculated that the raw ingredients – if he bought them himself – would cost him maybe 2.5 riyals per kg. That's a 3.3 riyal spread. On 30 tons per month (his usage for juvenile shrimp), that's 99,000 riyals per month – about $26,000 USD. Every month.

He had a small building on his farm – originally a storage shed, about 100 square meters. He had a 3-phase power connection (most farms in that region do, for the water pumps). He had a water supply.

What he didn't have: any feed equipment. No grinder. No mixer. No extruder. No dryer. No crumbler. Nothing.

So why did he only buy a crumble maker? Why not a whole line?

Because he was smart about it. He didn't want to invest $150,000 in equipment he didn't know how to run. He wanted to start small. Prove the concept. Then expand.

His plan was:

1. Buy a small hammer mill and mixer locally (these are available in Jeddah)
2. Buy an extruder from a Chinese supplier (not us – he found one on his own)
3. Buy a crumble maker from RICHI
4. Make crumbles for his own ponds only
5. If it worked, upgrade and maybe sell to neighbors

He bought just the crumble maker from us. The rest he sourced elsewhere. That's not typical – most customers want a complete solution. But I respected his approach. He was testing the water before diving in.

What He's Processing – Ingredients Available in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia doesn't have a developed aquaculture feed industry. Most ingredients are imported. Ahmed's initial formula (he worked with a consultant from Egypt to develop it) looked like this:

• Fish meal (imported from Peru or Oman): 25-28%. Oman is closer, so freight is cheaper.
• Soybean meal (imported from Brazil or Argentina): 25-30%. Available through traders in Jeddah.
• Corn gluten meal (imported from the US or India): 8-10%.
• Wheat flour (locally available – Saudi grows some wheat): 8-10% as binder.
• Poultry by-product meal (local – from chicken processing plants near Riyadh): 8-10%. Much cheaper than fish meal.
• Shrimp head meal (not available locally – he didn't use it initially): 0%
• Fish oil, vitamins, minerals: the rest.

His extruded pellets were 2.0mm diameter – small because he was targeting juvenile shrimp. Target crumble size: 0.5mm to 1.0mm. He didn't need larger crumbles because he only buys whole pellets for adult shrimp.

The challenge was his extruder. It was a small, single-screw machine – Chinese brand, not high-end. It produced soft pellets, not as hard as pellets from a twin-screw extruder. Soft pellets are harder to crumble cleanly – they tend to squish instead of break.

I warned him about this before he bought the crumble maker. He said: "I know. But I'll upgrade the extruder later. First I want to see if the pellet feed crumbler works with what I have."

Fair enough.

The SSLG25x140X – Why This Model for a Farm-Based Operation

We recommended the SSLG25x140X shrimp feed crumble maker. Here's why, and why not a different model.

First, roll diameter: 250mm. The smaller 150mm or 200mm rolls would have worked, but with his soft pellets, larger rolls are better. Why? Larger rolls have a longer arc of contact. The pellets spend more time between the rolls, which means they're more likely to break cleanly rather than squish. With soft pellets, smaller rolls tend to smear them into a paste.

Second, roll length: 1400mm. His extruder was only making about 1.2 tons per hour – very small. The 1400mm roll length is overkill for that throughput. But he wanted room to grow. He planned to upgrade to a 2.5 t/h extruder within a year. The 1400mm crumbler would handle that easily. The smaller 1000mm or 800mm models would have become bottlenecks.

Third, X-type corrugations: essential for his target crumble size (0.5-1.0mm). The standard three-roll crumbler (non-X) has coarser teeth and is designed for 1.2-2.5mm crumbles. For 0.5mm crumbles, you need the fine teeth.

Fourth, three-roll design: the feeding roll helps distribute his soft pellets evenly. With a two-roll machine, the pellets would tend to clump in the middle, causing uneven wear and inconsistent crumbling.

Power: 11kW main motor + 1.1kW feeder motor. His existing electrical panel could handle that – he had a 60A feed from the farm's main supply.

He paid for the machine. We shipped it. And then the real learning began.

Installation – What Went Wrong Before It Went Right

I'm going to be honest. The first month was rough. Not because of the machine – because of everything around it.

Problem 1: The extruder. His shrimp fish feed extruder was making inconsistent pellets. Sometimes 1.8mm, sometimes 2.2mm. The die wasn't heating evenly. So the pellets going into the crumbler were different sizes. That's a disaster for crumbling. You can't set one roll gap that works for two different pellet diameters.

He fixed this by replacing the extruder heater bands – cheap fix, about 500 riyals. Then the pellets were consistently 2.0mm.

Problem 2: Pellet moisture. His dryer was a homemade contraption – a perforated belt with fans blowing hot air. No temperature control. Some pellets came out at 6% moisture (too dry, brittle, crumbled into dust). Others came out at 12% (too wet, squishy, turned into paste in the crumbler).

He fixed this by adding a simple moisture meter (cost him about 200 riyals) and training his guy to adjust the dryer speed based on readings. Took about two weeks to get consistent.

Problem 3: No screener. He thought he could crumble and then bag directly. He was wrong. The crumbler produced about 15% fines and 10% oversized. Without a screener, the fines ended up in the bags. His shrimp didn't eat the fines – they just settled at the bottom of the pond.

He bought a small vibrating screener from a local supplier – about 3,000 riyals. Two decks: 0.3mm bottom, 1.2mm top. The fines (below 0.3mm) went back to the extruder (re-processed). The oversized (above 1.2mm) went back to the crumbler. The acceptable crumbles (0.3-1.2mm) went to bagging.

After these fixes, the system started working.

Performance – What the Numbers Looked Like After Three Months

Once he got the upstream issues sorted, the crumble maker performed well. Here's what Ahmed reported after three months of steady production:

• Throughput: 1.1-1.3 tons per hour (limited by his extruder, not the crumbler)
• Fines (below 0.3mm): 11-13%
• Acceptable crumbles (0.3-1.2mm): 78-81%
• Oversized (above 1.2mm): 7-9%
• Roll wear: After 250 tons, the rolls still looked new. At this rate, he expects to get 1,500-2,000 tons before needing to reverse them.
• Cost savings: He calculated his all-in cost (ingredients + labor + electricity + depreciation) at about 3.2 riyals per kg. He was previously paying 5.8 riyals per kg for imported crumbles. Savings: 2.6 riyals per kg. On 30 tons per month, that's 78,000 riyals per month – about $20,800 USD.

He told me: "I should have done this three years ago. I wasted so much money on imported feed."

Customer Feedback – His Exact Words (from a Voice Note)

Ahmed sent me a voice note on WhatsApp after about four months. I transcribed it (translated from Arabic, cleaned up a bit):

"Look, I'm not a feed expert. I'm a shrimp farmer. But this machine works. My shrimp are eating better. The crumbles are uniform – not like the imported stuff where half is powder and half is too big.

The first month was hard. I didn't know about moisture control. I didn't know about the screener. But your guy on the phone helped me. He told me to buy a moisture meter. He told me I need a screener. He was right.

Now I run the crumbler every morning for about 8 hours. My worker checks the roll gap once a day. That's it. No problems.

I already ordered a bigger extruder. Next month I'll be making 2.5 tons per hour. The crumbler can handle it – that's why I bought the bigger model.

One thing – buy spare belts. My belts stretched after about 100 hours. I didn't have spares. I had to wait three days for a supplier in Jeddah to send me. Now I have four sets on the shelf.

Would I recommend this machine to other farmers? Yes. But tell them they need a screener and a moisture meter. The machine is good, but the stuff around it matters too."

That last line – "the stuff around it matters too" – that's the kind of feedback that comes from real experience.

Why a Crumble Maker Instead of a Hammer Mill?

This is a common question from farmers who are new to feed production. Ahmed asked it too.

A hammer mill can break pellets into smaller pieces. So why not use a hammer mill?

Because a hammer mill uses impact – it smashes the pellets. This creates:

• More fines (sometimes 30-40% dust)
• Heat (which degrades vitamins and fats)
• Uneven particle sizes

A shrimp feed crumble maker uses shear – it cuts the pellets between two rolls. This creates:

• Fewer fines (typically 10-15%)
• Less heat (the rolls turn slowly)
• More uniform crumbles

For shrimp feed, uniform crumble size is critical. Shrimp feed by feel and taste, not by sight. If the crumbles are different sizes, the shrimp will eat the bigger pieces first and ignore the smaller ones. That's inefficient. With uniform crumbles, they eat everything.

Ahmed tested this. He took two batches of crumbles – one from his hammer mill (which he used briefly before buying the crumbler) and one from the crumbler. He put them in two feeding trays in the same pond. The crumbler tray was empty in 45 minutes. The hammer mill tray still had dust and small pieces after 2 hours.

That test alone convinced him.

Shipping – Qingdao to Jeddah (King Abdullah Port)

The shrimp feed crumble maker shipped from Qingdao to King Abdullah Port, which is about 100km north of Jeddah. This is a newer port – deeper water, less congestion than the old Jeddah Islamic Port.

Shipping time from Qingdao to Saudi Arabia is about 25-28 days. We put the machine in a 20-foot container with:

• The SSLG25x140X crumble maker
• One spare set of X-type rolls
• Four sets of V-belts (SPB-type)
• A bearing kit (six bearings, seals, and grease fittings)
• A magnetic plate (mounted in the inlet)

Customs clearance in Saudi Arabia took about 10 days – faster than I expected. His broker in Jeddah handled everything. Total landed cost was about 18% higher than the FOB price – mostly shipping and duties.

Ahmed arranged his own trucking from King Abdullah Port to Lith – about 250km, maybe 3 hours. He has a small truck for moving feed around his farm. It worked fine.

What Ahmed Learned – Lessons for Other Farmers

If you're a shrimp farmer thinking about making your own crumbles, here's what Ahmed told me he wished he knew from the start.

• Lesson 1: Start with the crumbler, but don't skip the screener. He tried to save money by not buying a screener. That was a mistake. The screener paid for itself in two weeks by recovering fines that would have been wasted.
• Lesson 2: Pellet quality matters more than crumbler quality. A good crumbler can't fix bad pellets. If your extruder makes inconsistent pellets, fix that first. Ahmed spent two weeks chasing problems that were actually upstream issues.
• Lesson 3: Buy spare belts. This is such a small thing, but it caused him three days of downtime. Belts are cheap. Downtime is expensive.
• Lesson 4: Don't overbuy capacity, but leave room to grow. He bought the 1400mm model even though his extruder only made 1.2 t/h. Six months later, he upgraded to a 2.5 t/h extruder. The crumbler handles it fine. If he had bought the smaller 1000mm model, he'd be replacing it now.
• Lesson 5: Talk to someone who's done it before. Ahmed called three other farmers in the region who were making their own feed. He said those calls saved him months of trial and error. If you're reading this and you're in Saudi Arabia, reach out to me – I can connect you with Ahmed or other customers in the region.

What We Did Differently for This Customer

Ahmed was not our typical customer. He wasn't a feed miller. He was a farmer. So we approached this differently.

First, we didn't try to sell him a whole shrimp feed production line. He asked for just a crumbler. We sold him just a crumbler. Some salespeople would have pushed for a bigger sale. That's not how we work. If a customer knows what they need, we listen.

Second, we provided technical support for things that weren't our equipment. When his extruder was making inconsistent pellets, we helped him troubleshoot – even though we didn't sell him the extruder. Why? Because if his pellets are bad, he'll blame the crumbler. It's in our interest to help him get the whole line working.

Third, we sent him a simple checklist for startup in Arabic – not just English. Things like: check belt tension after 50 hours, clean the magnetic plate daily, measure roll gap weekly. He printed it and taped it to the wall next to the crumbler.

Fourth, we offered a video call during his first production run. I sat in my office and watched on my phone while he ran the machine. I could see the crumbles coming out, hear the motor, see the roll gap indicator. When he had a question about the screener (not our equipment), I couldn't help – but I told him to call the screener supplier. He appreciated that I didn't pretend to know everything.

Is a Shrimp Feed Crumble Maker Right for Your Farm?

Here's my honest take, based on Ahmed's experience and others like him.

A shrimp feed crumble maker in Saudi Arabia – or anywhere – makes sense if:

• You're using at least 15-20 tons of crumbles per month. Less than that, and the math gets tight. Ahmed was using 30 tons per month, so it was a no-brainer.
• You have reliable access to ingredients. If you can't get fish meal or soybean meal consistently, don't start.
• You have basic mechanical skills – or a worker who does. The crumbler itself is simple, but you need to be able to change belts, check gaps, and clean magnets.
• You're willing to buy a screener. Don't skip this. I know it adds cost, but it's essential.

It does NOT make sense if:

• You're only making crumbles for a few ponds. The equipment cost will eat your savings.
• You don't have good quality pellets. Fix your extruder or dryer first.
• You're not willing to learn. There's a learning curve. Ahmed had a rough first month. If you're not patient, buy imported feed.

For Ahmed, the crumble maker was the right move. He went from paying 5.8 riyals per kg to making his own for 3.2 riyals per kg. On 30 tons per month, that's 78,000 riyals saved every month. The machine paid for itself in less than two weeks. Everything after that is profit.

Final Thoughts – And an Invitation

If you're reading this and you're a shrimp farmer in Saudi Arabia – or anywhere in the Middle East – and you're tired of paying high prices for imported crumbles, think about making your own.

You don't need a big factory. You don't need to be a feed engineer. You need:

• A small building (100 square meters is plenty)
• A 3-phase power connection
• A grinder and mixer (buy these locally – they're available)
• An extruder (get a small one – 1-2 t/h)
• A dryer (basic belt dryer is fine)
• A crumble maker (that's us)
• A screener (buy this locally)

Start small. Prove the concept. Then grow.

Ahmed started with a 1.2 t/h extruder. A year later, he upgraded to 2.5 t/h. Two years later, he started selling crumbles to his neighbors. Now he's running two shifts and thinking about a second line.

It all started with one machine – a shrimp feed crumble maker in Saudi Arabia.

If you want to talk about your situation, reach out through the RICHI website (https://www.pellet-richi.com/). Tell me your pond size, your current feed usage, and what you're paying for imported crumbles. I can give you a rough payback calculation. No pressure. Just an honest conversation from someone who's seen this work.

And if you're in Saudi Arabia, I can connect you with Ahmed. He's not a salesperson – just a farmer who figured it out and is happy to share what he learned. Sometimes that's the best advice you can get.