Kerry Farm Supplies (part of the Kerry Group PLC)

Industry: Agri Foods / Food Ingredients and Flavours / Consumer Foods
Feed Production: 150,000 tonnes per annum
Feed Plants: 1
Species: Dairy / Cattle / Sheep

Plant - Farranfore Kerry / Ireland

• Integrated weighbridge with Barrier Control
• 2 main raw material intakes
• 5 mineral blow line intakes
• 3 High speed packing lines
• Metered Liquid Intake
• 2,400 tonnes raw material Silo / Bin storage
• 40 TPH blending plant, weighing, grinding, mixing, in-line molasses mixing
• 3 Press lines with vertical box cooling
• 2 In-line Forberg coating systems
• 1 High Speed Bulk to Truck filling systems with integrated weighbridges
• 1 High Speed packing / pallet / On-line bag/pallet labelling system
• Bulk lorry security weighing system – barrier controlled
• 2,600 tonnes finished product storage

Control System

The feed mill manufacturing process is fully automated using the complete suite of InFeed 600 systems and products. The user interface hardware consists of a domain server with various user client PCs, all running under Microsoft platform. The process control hardware is a series of networked Mitsubishi PLCs, which directly interface with and control the plant equipment.

The various layers of the system consist of a user front end (GUI), SCADA software engine, reporting software and PLC process control software. The GUI is developed using AFCON Inc. HMI SCADA PCIM. The InFeed 600 MES engine, which processes, stores and manipulates data and communications with PLCs, weigh bridges, ERP, MIS platforms, consists of numerous C/C++ programs and modules, all of which have been developed exclusively by ICM Computer Systems as part of its ongoing product development for the agri and aqua food manufacturing industry.

The feed mill system InFeed 600 is fully integrated with the clients ERP system Millwheel.

This feed mill built in the late 1970's has undergone a number of refurbishments in order to keep pace with the latest industry trends. The mill was originally automated using non-standard propriety hardware and software that caused various problems. ICM Computer Systems InFeed systems were chosen in the late 1980’s to provide state of the art technology and reliable systems. InFeed 600 solutions in partnership with the client’s requirements have enabled this mill to keep pace with the increasing demands of this market.

The mill is large and complex. It has 2 automatic intakes operated by the truck drivers, feeding over 35 raw material bins. 5 weighers weigh batches of 4 tonnes into 2 live bins and from these, 2 grinders feed a 3 tier mixer where liquids are added. A high speed in-line KAHL mixer then adds molasses en route to pre-press or meals bins.

Three press lines operate with conditioning, ripening and tandem press arrangement. Each line has box cooler and 2 of the lines have in-line high speed Forburg liquid mixers. The presses feed multiple finished product bins arranged over 3 loading bays. Each bay is fully integrated with its own automatic weighbridge and is fully driver operated.

InFeed 600 also controls the packing/palletiser line with integrated bag/pallet counts. Each bag of feed produced is labelled with its own unique label detailing manufacturer data, product name, manufacturing order number, batch/run number, bag number, pack size, ingredients, and nutrient information, feeding instructions, dates of manufacture and best before date.

All trucks weigh in and out over a single integrated weighbridge controlled by InFeed 600, which provides security weighments and fully controlled barriers.