SHOWCASE Gunnar
SHOWCASE Gunnar Hallmann, Industry Director Aqua & Pet Gunnar Hallman: Andritz PetFood & Feed, Biofuels is based in Denmark. We are a specialist in equipment for dry pet food production, grinders and mixers, and extruders. ANDRITZ is the perfect partner for the design, engineering, supply, and construction of your pet food process line and offers upgrades for existing facilities and solutions for greenfield plants, which are handled either in cooperation with regional suppliers and contractors or as turn-key solutions. The company focuses on providing optimum pet food quality at the lowest possible operating costs and with specific attention to: • Precise feed composition • Highly consistent pet food pellet quality regarding size, shape, surface, color, and density • Pet food pellets with a high rate of absorption and retention of liquid fat and digest ingredients • Consistent and uniform pellet dryness • Processing with careful attention to retention of essential nutrients • Optimization of energy consumption Which advantages are to be expected through the PetFood Competence Network a) for the companies involved and b) for the producers of pet food? We learn more about the business as a whole through networking with the other partners. Good to share and exchange trend discussions with like minded people. What demands do pet food manufacturers make on suppliers to this industry? Is it different for raw materials, equipment or packaging manufacturers? PetFood has three different sets of customers at the same time: supermarkets and retailers, pet parents / purchasers, and the animals themselves as consumers. All these needs have to be met to be successful. How has the pet food market changed in the last few years? (5 to 10 years) We see the petfood business growing both in the wet and dry sectors. In warmer countries more dry foods are needed. What trends can be seen in the ingredients and technology used? We also see the growth of plant based options, as well as insect protein becoming more relevant. Equipment needs to be adjusted, but we can easily adapt our equipment. What will be the biggest challenges in the production and packaging of Importance of energy consumption, especially reduced drying costs pet food in the next five years? will be a trend for a while to come. 26 Technology & Marketing
SHOWCASE Which advantages are to be expected through the PetFood Competence Network a) for the companies involved and b) for the producers of pet food? We need to have a better visibility of the overall market growth within the next 2-3 years to adjust our own production capacities to that. As a global leader in our area it is important to support new business on a long term perspective. Long term relationship with our customers is key to generate confidence in our competence and to build trust. What demands do pet food manufacturers make on suppliers to this industry? Is it different for raw materials, equipment or packaging manufacturers? In our business with raw materials the tasks are changing on a daily base. The majority of our customers have already equipment in place and need some support to get either the product performance right or they have a new product idea where they need some support from us. We are clearly seen and treated as an innovation support service, based on a sustainable raw material supplier base. in the Pet food lab Torsten Trampe (2nd left) How has the pet food market changed in the last few years? (5 to 10 years) It is not a secret anymore that a lot of expertise around pet food is now allocated at suppliers level and that they need to be involved in an early stage to accelerate the innovation process. The same counts for the growth support and the raw material scarcity around it. State of the art product development is not a petfood manufacture job alone; it is a joint venture between manufacture and suppliers like us. What changes have you noticed when looking at raw materials and ingredients for pet food? Production technology? Packaging as such? For me the biggest change is of course the role of fiber in pet food. In the past mainly used for nutritional purpose, now also used for process efficiency and product aesthetics. This is not a trend anymore; it has become a part of our daily business. Changes in raw materials, role of fiber has changed. More now about process efficiency. Part of daily business, structure improved with fibers. What trends can be seen in the ingredients and technology used? Are plant-based foods or even so called Superfoods playing a special role in today's food for our pets? Which ones? Clearly the legal limitations on raw material choice are a trend. Same for “natural” claims and single proteins, driven by marketing. All of that is ending up in a difficult situation where product aesthetics and availability of products becoming a challenge. The pet food industry is doing a great job to support that development but at one point of time it will be very expensive to follow that route or the customer has to accept an obvious change in product appearance. I expect a slow moving transmission from high animal protein containing diets to other alternatives. Clearly driven by human food trends our industry will follow that route. Recipes are changing: slow trends, less animal proteins; changes in protein sources, growth in insect proteins. Still there is a need for meat, cats have to have the right amino acid profile. What will be the biggest challenges in the production and packaging of pet food in the next five years? To support the ongoing growth on existing products and the need for new raw material innovations to overcome the global changes. Sustainability will play a very important role, potentially as the next big claim on pet food. Energy balance needed carbon footprint. More focus on product itself Do you have a pet yourself? What is your biggest wish for this special member Being a pet parent is stressful. At the moment I travel too much to be fair to a pet. Issue 1 2022 27
