On September 26 and 27, 2023, the nearly 45-year-old Vitafort First Feed Manufacturing and Distribution Ltd. inaugurated in Dabas the most unique and ultramodern feed plant of Hungary, designed and built by ABRAZIV Kft.
The greenfield investment of more than HUF 6 billion was aimed at meeting the growing export demand and the demand for feed with special ingredients by building a state-of-the-art plant. The investment was implemented in Dabas between 2021-23. The plant has a floor area of more than 1000 m2, 9 levels, 6700 m2 of installed state-of-the-art technology, a height of almost 40 m and is named A-Z PLANT 4.0.
“A-Z PLANT 4.0 stands up to international comparison, with environmental awareness and sustainability played an important role in its design and technology selection. It is safe to say that the new feed mill’s technological equipment and high-tech production lines are unique in the region” said Zoltán Kulik, CEO of Vitafort Zrt.
Following the opening speech, Zsolt Mondik, CEO of Abraziv Kft., gave a speech in which he said:
“4 years ago, Vitafort Zrt. dared to dream big and new. In their request, they set out basic criteria that did not mean a feed mill in the traditional sense, but the development of a concentrated production unit, including premix, concentrate and feed production.”
Zsolt Mondik emphasized that the project, which is technologically decisive for the production of feed and premix, was created by the professional team of Vitafort Zrt. and Abraziv Kft., developing together and inspiring each other, and expressed his thanks for the successful cooperation.
With this series of ceremonies, both major companies, investor and contractor have reached an important milestone, as one of the biggest projects of recent years has entered a new phase. From now on, the main focus will be on the test operation and then on production, but as Zsolt Mondik said, “although we are retreating to the background, we will continue to work together on the maintenance, service and operation side”.
The inauguration of “the plant of the future” was also attended by the Minister of Agriculture, István Nagy, who shared the following thought with the audience:
“The future has come to today, we can be part of the technological innovation that can make the Hungarian food economy competitive.”
What makes A-Z Plant 4.0 unique is the following improvements.
The plant has two technological production lines – feed mix and concentrate and premix – operating in close connection with each other. The integrated plant has a total of three mixing lines, with three mixing machines of different sizes and rotor designs, and three pellet mills with a total capacity of 25 t/h. The raw materials are fed into the plant from 144 macro- and micro-component tanks with a volume of over 1000 m3.
Three alternative bagging lines for the finished products are available, as well as big-bag and bulk discharge. All these features ensure the high flexibility of the complex plant, which is capable of producing and packaging 60 to 80 different types of end products per day, with a scaling accuracy of up to 2 grams, with cycle times of 5 to 6 minutes, if needed.
The absence of drug contamination is made possible by a closed-loop, containerised automatic material handling system, from the mixing machines to the finished product discharge and processing lines. The technology is environmentally friendly, spill-free and worker-friendly. The concentrate and feed mix production line has a capacity of 100 000 tonnes per year.
The premix line with a capacity of 6 t/h can produce about 30 000 tonnes per year of high concentrate premix with a finished feed mix equivalent of more than 1,5 million tonnes.