Andritz launched its latest extrusion innovation, ExMax S1021, during VICTAM LatAm in São Paulo, Brazil. The new extruder responds to the growing demand for safer, more sustainable pet and aquafeeds, helping producers consistently achieve high-quality nutrition, improve food safety, and increase efficiency while reducing operational costs and unplanned downtime.
Developed in collaboration with industry producers, the ExMax S1021 combines a hygienic design with advanced automation to make production cleaner, more reliable, and easier to control, while minimizing waste.
“The ExMax S1021 is not just about capacity, it’s about giving producers greater control, cleaner operations, and consistently superior product quality,” said Danny Cummins, Director of Product Management at ANDRITZ Feed & Biofuel. “Producers worldwide are under pressure to deliver safer, more sustainable feed at a lower cost. This technology is designed to meet those demands and help them remain competitive in fast-growing markets like Latin America.”
The ExMax S1021 features the patented DensiFlex™ system, which automates the control of cooking and expansion to ensure product uniformity. For aquafeeds, it enables the adjustment of pressure to produce floating or sinking feeds. In addition, the Expansion Control System (ECS) offers even greater control of pressure, allowing the production of fast-sinking fish feeds.
The extruder features an open frame, providing easy access to all components. The screw configuration can be changed quickly. At the same time, it includes several automatic maintenance systems, such as lubrication and vibration control, to extend equipment lifetime. Its hygienic, stainless-steel design makes cleaning easier and minimizes the risk of cross-contamination.
The knife setup has also been redesigned. By maintaining the same distance from the die, the system ensures that pellets are always the same size without residues. “Operators will still need to change knives and dies, but on a day-to-day basis, it is automatically adjusted, even with ECS and high-pressure processing,” said Gunnar Hallmann, Industry Director Aqua & Pet at Andritz, to Aquafeed.com during VICTAM LatAm. The extruder is also flexible and can incorporate the Andritz microfeed system to produce smaller pellet sizes.
Beyond maintenance features, the new extruder integrates automation, including automatic steam and water addition. Startup and shutdown are also simplified with the DensiFlex™ bypass valve. “It makes life easier for the operator; they can concentrate on the product,” Hallmann said.
The extruder has also been designed to reduce operating costs, with an efficient drive system that reduces energy consumption. “One of the things we are really focusing on is energy consumption. For instance, we try to produce with as little moisture as possible because we know that some operators, for instance, add water to make sinking fish feed. We do not do that; instead, we use our ECS system, knowing that adding a lot of water requires drying afterwards. The dryer accounts for 60% of a factory's energy consumption or cost, so having a lot of water in it will also increase the drying costs. That is where we try to keep moisture content low,” Hallmann explained.
With aquafeed formulations including a broader range of ingredients, flexibility is also required. “The new raw materials require more work inside the extruder, and our extruder can change the screw elements or change a barrel in a quick and easy way.”
Gunnar Hallmann, Industry Director Aqua & Pet at Andritz. Credits: Aquafeed.com
As for market adoption, Hallmann also sees shrimp production shifting toward extrusion as the future technology. “First, producers can make smaller pellets and reduce waste. Second, extrusion offers greater flexibility in terms of formula, with lower starch levels, which allows for the use of more essential raw materials and enhances water stability compared to pelleting. From an investment point of view, pelleting is more convenient, but when you look at the recipe and water flexibility, the extruder is much better.”
Digital tools to boost profitability
In addition to the ExMax S1021, Andritz is also showcasing its automation and digitalization solutions, along with its full portfolio of support services designed to help producers maximize equipment performance throughout its entire lifecycle.
Since the launch of Metris All-in-One last year, several major players have already adopted the platform. Pet food and aquafeed industries have been among the fastest to embrace it.
“We knew that this technology would bring better quality to the final product. We have success stories with increased moisture content of the final product. In one installation for a ten-ton-per-hour dryer and extrusion process, we were able to increase the moisture content by 16.1% on average and decrease the variability of moisture by 80%. We brought advanced process control, and the customer was able to increase profits by EUR 150,000 per year for a ten-ton-per-hour line, which is significant,” said Sohail Nazari, General Manager, Industrial Automation & Digitalization at Andritz, in an interview with Aquafeed.com.
So far, the best-selling features have been the Product Tracker and Advanced Process Control. “With Product Tracker, you can see in one place what your production is, what the costs are, where those costs are going, and what resources you’re using,” Nazari explained. As an example, operators can estimate optimum throughputs for specific recipes. When operations run within the optimal range, efficiency is maintained, but when they move outside, operators can immediately analyze what’s going wrong, correct it, and reduce costs.
Andritz Automation & Digitalization team. Credits: Aquafeed.com
New this year is the Operator Training Simulator, initially designed for plants, which is now available on a subscription basis, allowing feed manufacturers to train their operators virtually.
The second addition this year is the Track and Tracing feature, which enables full traceability across the production process. The feature complies with EU, Latin American, and North American standards. Operators can now track production end-to-end, identifying the ingredients used and each step in the feed manufacturing process. If an issue arises with a feed batch, the system eliminates the need for manual paperwork by tracing the problem back to its source, whether in raw material supply or processing.
This new capability is being incorporated directly into the Andritz plant automation system. “Metris All-in-One puts everything in one place. We have entire plant automation, but also plant monitoring. For example, the customer can view all monitoring systems, assess risks associated with the operation, and track overall equipment efficiency and costs, all under the same platform,” Nazari concluded.
