Meat+Poultry - August 2022 - 85

Supervisors who need to interact with both areas
of the plant can do so through computer controls and
cameras instead of crossing over from one side of the
plant to the other.
MIX IN ONE
TUMBLE &
Raw ingredients, most of which are pre-blended,
are brought in super sacks into the pre-batch room.
Dry blending is completed and then liquid ingredients,
stored in totes, barrels and drums, are mixed in.
Tuffy's starts with 50-lb frozen meat blocks to create
its own meat slurry recipes. The company incorporated
a separate meat processing room into their facility so
they could manage the product and keep it separate
until it's ground, mixed and incorporated into the
recipes. The operation features an automated system
to add liquids to the meat slurry. Flow meters and
automated load cells allow the addition of up to eight
different liquids to the meat slurry, automatically.
Product mixtures then move to one of the two
extrusion lines. The plant was originally built to have
room for four separate extrusion lines, but some of
the space was taken in the short-term to incorporate
the new canning line. Currently, there is one single and
one twin extruder running pet treat products, usually
for different companies, on a daily basis. Each line can
produce 9,000 lbs of semi-moist pet treats each hour.
After extrusion, grilling and cooling, the product is sent
directly to packaging.
In order to stay flexible and allow for product runs
of all sizes to go through the facility, Tuffy's opted to
incorporate six packaging positions into the new plant
- three of which are designed for smaller batches and
quick turnover. The company is currently running five of
the lines and will soon add the sixth. The packaging bins
feed, separate and weigh product before they are fed
directly into pre-made, standup, resealable pouches or
into one of two rollstock machines.
Packages are filled, weighed, inspected and put into
cases before fulfillment. The packaging side of the plant
is the most labor-intensive - 90% of the plant employees
are involved in some aspect of the packaging process.
Canning is set up as a separate production and
packaging line, with finished product stored at an offsite
warehouse for fulfillment. All eight SKUs currently
produced at the plant are Tuffy's branded Nutri-Source
products - 5 ½-oz and 13-oz cans for dogs and cats.
" With the addition of our canning line, we can now
offer our customers a full repertoire of the brands
they trust, " Sailer said. " We now have representation
and space in all sides of the market - pet treats,
canned meals and pet food. We're also getting into
broths, toppers and jerkies using some third-party
co-manufacturers. We want to have our brand stamp on
all the subcategories in pet. "
MACHINE
Tumble and mix in one compact
and affordable machine.
Henneken™ Type CVM Tumblers feature a fixed drum
with rotating, interchangeable mixing arms that allow
you to go from tumbling and marinating to mixing
and blending in minutes. Control wires and clear
vacuum tubing are kept outside of the jacket for easy
inspection and repair. With programmable touchscreen
controls, the CVM Tumblers are easy to use,
easy to clean, and easy to maintain. Learn more
about the benefits of the CVM at iinc.org/cvm
Tumbling
Marination
Mixing
Dry-Salting
FTIINC.ORG/CVM
309.588.4803
www.meatpoultry.com | 08.22 | MEAT+POULTRY 85
http://www.iinc.org/cvm http://www.FTIINC.ORG/CVM
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