A major design/build firm based in Minnesota, USA was awarded the project to design, engineer and construct the College of Agriculture at Auburn University’s new Poultry and Animal Nutrition Center. As one of the only type of these facilities in the world, it was to be uniquely designed to advance feed manufacturing and technology in the south-eastern USA and beyond.
As part of the project, the facility needed equipment for a modular compact feed mill. The problem was the limited available space, which was much too small for the standard design parameters of the required equipment. Because of this, the agriculture department needed assistance with the design and construction of custom machines to fit in their small footprint. Therefore the firm partnered with APEC on a complete equipment customisation design that would meet the needs of Auburn University’s new facility.
APEC was able to modify the equipment in such a way that it would fit into the available space by using a 12-bin loss-in-weight micro ingredient system. Each bin and discharge feeder was mounted on a platform scale, allowing the modular system to be compact while still giving an accurate metering system. The APEC team worked with a local vendor that manufactures pre-fabricated bins to ensure they would be of the size and shape to properly fit within the allotted space.
The partnership between the design/build firm and APEC resulted in providing the new learning centre with a modular design that functions as a small-scale adaptation of a commercial facility. The new custom feed mill is operated primarily by students as part of the curriculum and will greatly enhance the research and teaching capabilities of the university’s Poultry Science programme.
