Inside ADM’s Animal Nutrition Technology Center
New facility allows customers to collaborate with ADM on research and development solutions for the feed industry.
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The facility opened in December 2019 in Decatur, Illinois, US, which is the headquarters for the company’s North American division.
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The facility has both lab and pilot-scale capabilities, which allows for testing of new product developments, prior to full-scale production. A pilot extrusion space that runs multiple small batches of feed, foods, and treats in a single day to assess ingredient functionality.
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Lane describes the facility as a collaborative hub for science and technology development.
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In the interactive kitchen, customers can assist in pet product development and performance evaluations.
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The center is designed to serve the needs of the broad animal nutrition space, Lane said, with unique capabilities for the development of specialty ingredients for pet foods and aquaculture feeds.
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ADM is continuing to expand with the merger of multiple feed manufacturing companies that bring together experiences and knowledge from former competitors. Crosswind Industries, acquired in 2017, manufactures contract and private label pet treats and foods as well as specialty ingredients. It now has nine extrusion systems and sixteen packaging lines across six Kansas, US, facilities.
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In addition to the acquisitions, ADM built and renovated three specialty animal nutrition plants in China and four plants in the United States. One of its more recent projects included a new feed manufacturing facility in Quincy, Illinois, US, that brought together into one building capacity that had been spread across five mills.