BERKEL-ENSCHOT, NETHERLANDS — Brazilian pet food manufacturer, Special Dog Company, expanded its production capabilities in 2019 to include wet pet food processing. 

Special Dog chose Lan Handling Technologies' pouch loading, unloading and in-line drying systems to automate its wet pet food processing capabilities. Special Dog added six production lines to manufacture 30 different wet dog and cat food formulas.

Octavio Soberon, production manager at San Paolo-based Special Dog, said “After one year of production, we achieved an OEE [overall equipment effectiveness] of 98%. Something to be proud of!"

According to Lan Handling, a key to maximizing efficiency is to balance the line speeds across all the equipment, so the equipment “works together like an orchestra.” The pouch filling systems at Special Dog have a line capacity of 250 pouches per minute. The automated unloading and unique drying solution reduce the wet area in a factory and allow the pouches to go directly to the packaging machines.

Celebrating its 20^th year in business, Special Dog Company is one of the largest manufacturers of both dog food and cat food in Brazil, distributing its products in seven Brazilian states through more than 38,000 retail locations.

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