Hankkija is a Finnish manufacturer of compound feed and feed additives, operating successfully in the Scandinavian and international markets. Hankkija is the market leader in Finland in pig, poultry and cattle feed, running four feed mills with an overall yearly production of 500 million kilos.
Hankkija feed mill in Turku runs two hammer mills for separate grinding of main cereals, soybean meal, sunflower seed extract, peas and broad beans. They were looking for a modern hammer mill to replace their older one from 1980’s. As these things go, the old mill did not handle the increased demand and was too much behind in safety and ease of maintenance. On recommendation, Hankkija contacted Tietjen at the beginning of 2020. After an initial presentation by Tietjen at Hankkija and subsequent extensive exchanges, a team from Hankkija travelled to Germany in 2021 to inspect some reference Tietjen installations. Together with our sales engineer Karsten Frese, Hankkija visited:
- PetCom, Minden
- UnaHakra, Hamburg
- Hamburger Leistungsfutter, Hamburg
Touring the Tietjen installations and especially the discussions with the satisfied employees convinced Hankkija: At the end of 2022, a grinding module was ordered from Tietjen, the heart of the module is our large chamber hammer mill GDL 12.
Why Hankkija opts for the large chamber mill GDL
Hankkija decided in favour of a GDL due to the facts of, high throughput, for example, 14 t/h barley with ø 3 mm screen perforation was required, and the production process is characterised by regular raw material changes, so the quick and easy screen change during idling of the GDL was a decisive plus.
In May 2023, the grinding module in customised paint finish, including, hammer mill, feeding device, mechanical conveying, filter and discharge conveying was installed at Hankkija and commissioned by Tietjen.
Increase productivity with Tietjen’s GDL
After six months in operation, Tietjen’s solution exceeds Hankkija’s expectations, Timo Ahlroos confirms: “The mill achieves an increase of throughput of more than 20% compared to the existing mill of about the same size. And the wear parts, such as beaters, also last much longer. Now we can feel safe if and when we are down to one mill because of maintenance or even a major overhaul.” How is this possible? Firstly, these good results are due to the mill itself, which has been designed for durability and ease of maintenance. Secondly, the system concept has the greatest influence, which was implemented with the Tietjen grinding module. Only by optimally coordinating aspiration, feeding, grinding, filtering and transport, as well as Tietjen’s experience, results of this magnitude are possible.
