Feed Mill & Animal Feed Manufacturing

Bulk Material Handling Solutions for Feed Mills

Feed mills run on throughput. Grains, oilseeds, protein meals, minerals, and additives move through receiving, storage, grinding, mixing, conditioning, pelleting, and loadout in a continuous cycle. When materials don’t flow — when bins bridge, hoppers rathole, or trailers won’t discharge — production slows or even grinds to a halt.

We’ve been solving problems like these for decades. We know the materials, the equipment, and the safety requirements.

Feed Mill Material Handling Challenges

Feed mill ingredients span a wide range of bulk densities, particle sizes, and flow characteristics leading to:

Bridging and ratholing in grain bins, ingredient silos, and storage hoppers
Incomplete discharge from hopper trailers delivering corn, DDGS, and other bulk ingredients
Sticky, high-moisture ingredients building up on bin walls and chutes
Inconsistent flow into grinders and mixers disrupting batch accuracy and throughput
Fine mineral and vitamin premixes that compact and resist flow
Pellet and mash buildup in transfer chutes and loadout equipment
Grain dust is a serious explosion hazard requiring ATEX-certified equipment throughout
Seasonal moisture variation changing the flow behavior of stored grains and meals

Why Feed Mill Materials Are Difficult to Handle
Feed mill operations handle a wide range of materials, each with its own flow challenges:
- Corn, wheat, and barley are relatively free-flowing when dry but cake and bridge readily at elevated moisture.
- Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) are among the most challenging feed ingredients — high fat content, irregular particle shape, and moisture sensitivity create severe bridging and wall adhesion.
- Soybean meal is fine, dusty, and prone to compaction under its own weight in large storage vessels.
- Canola and cottonseed meal have irregular particle shapes that interlock and resist gravity flow.
- Limestone and mineral premixes are dense and cohesive, bridging easily in hoppers and bins.
- Vitamin and additive premixes are fine, low-density powders that compact and resist metering.
- Rendered feed ingredients vary in fat content, particle size, and moisture by source and processing batch, creating unpredictable flow and a tendency to cake and build up on surfaces.
- Pelleted feed and finished mash can cake in storage, particularly in humid conditions.
- Grain dust throughout the facility creates explosive hazard conditions requiring certified equipment at every application point.
Feed Mill Ingredients & Materials Handled
Our vibration equipment can be used for:
- Rendered feed ingredients (meat/bone meal, poultry by-product meal,
  fish meal, feather meal, blood meal)
- Corn, wheat, barley, oats, sorghum
- Soybean meal and full-fat soybeans
- Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS)
- Canola meal and cottonseed meal
- Limestone and calcium carbonate
- Dicalcium phosphate and mineral premixes
- Salt, vitamin and additive premixes
- Pellet binders and flow agents
- Finished pellets and mash
- Bulk loadout products
Where Our Products Fit in the Supply Chain

Receiving & Truck Unloading Hopper trailers and dry bulk trucks delivering corn, DDGS, and soybean meal require vibration assistance to discharge completely. Incomplete unloading wastes time, increases turnaround costs, and leaves valuable material in the trailer.

Grain & Ingredient Storage A plugged bin halts grinding and mixing downstream. The right vibration solution — properly sized and positioned — keeps material flowing at discharge without damaging the vessel.

Grinding & Pre-Mix Handling Consistent flow into hammer mills and roller mills is critical to grind uniformity. Fine mineral and vitamin premixes require vibration at the hopper and feeder level to meter accurately.

Mixing & Conditioning Bridging as ingredients transfer into batch mixers directly affects batch accuracy and mix uniformity, and finished feed quality.

Pelleting & Cooling Consistent mash flow into the pellet mill affects die life, energy consumption, and pellet quality. Post-pelleting, finished pellets move through coolers and crumblers where transfer equipment may be needed.

Loadout & Bulk Delivery Vibration at the loadout hopper ensures fast, complete filling. Vibration on the delivery trailer ensures complete discharge at the farm or feedlot.
Grain Dust & Hazardous Environment Safety

Grain dust is one of the most serious explosion hazards in any industrial facility. Feed mills are classified hazardous locations, and equipment must be rated for safe operation wherever dust is present.

MARTIN® offers ATEX-certified and explosion-proof vibration equipment across our product line for use throughout feed mill facilities. When specifying equipment for feed mill applications, hazardous location rating is not optional.
Operational Benefits for Feed Mill Operations
Our industrial vibration products deliver measurable improvements across throughput, efficiency, and safety:
- Faster truck turnaround with complete, consistent trailer discharge
- Elimination of bin and hopper plug-ups that halt downstream operations
- More accurate ingredient metering supporting tighter batch control
- Reduced manual intervention due to less bin beating, less downtime, fewer labor hours on flow problems
- Consistent flow into grinders and mixers supporting uniform grind and blend quality
- Improved finished feed quality through consistent pelleting feed rates
- Hazardous-location-rated equipment for grain dust safety compliance

Products Typically Used In This Application

MARTIN^® PKL^® Interval Impactors

Interval impactors generate individual blows similar to a hammer.

Great for spray dryers, pipes and dust collectors
Superb controllability
Reduces noise, energy costs, and bin damage
Available with ATEX certification

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MARTIN^® NTS™ 80-350 Non-Impacting Linear Vibrators

This non-impacting vibrator provides powerful linear force for moving materials in small bins and hoppers.

Ideal for food, pharmaceutical and chemical applications
Quietest, most energy efficient vibrator on the market
Available with ATEX certification

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MARTIN^® NTS™ Non-Impacting Bin Vibrators

This bin vibrator offers low-frequency, high-amplitude energy best suited for larger particle sizes and light bulk densities.

Delivers powerful linear force without impacting
Designed for use with bowl feeders
Available with ATEX certification

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CDX Explosion Proof Electric Vibrators

This series provides powerful vibratory force in hazardous environments, engineered for applications where explosion-proof equipment is essential.

Guaranteed for 3 years even when operated at 100% amplitude setting in a 24/7 environment
Suitable for environments where explosive gases and dusts are present

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MARTIN^® NTP™ Continuous Impacting Linear Vibrators

This continuous impacting linear vibrator delivers high acceleration for removing sticky materials from vessel surfaces.

Sanitary coating ideal for food or pharmaceutical applications
Comes with cushioning strike plate to reduce stress on vessel walls

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MARTIN^® Stick & Shake™ Adhesive Mounting System

This is a revolutionary option for permanently mounting vibrators with no welding, bolting, or drilling.

Designed to work perfectly with our miniature air vibrators
Installs quickly and easily on virtually any surface
First one FREE

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MARTIN^® MT-FAST™ Hopper Trailer Vibrator

This vibrator is purpose-built for the trucking industry and is ideal for unloading DDG, grains, and other stubborn materials from hopper trailers.

Reduces unloading time by up to 65%
Mount wherever hangups occur
Uses rig’s own air supply
Try it FREE for 30 days

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MARTIN^® MT-FAST™ Dry Bulk Trailer Vibrator

This vibrator is purpose-built for the trucking industry and is ideal for loading and unloading cement, flour, and other stubborn materials from dry bulk trailers.

Significantly reduces loading and unloading time
Mount wherever hangups occur
Weighs < 20 lbs
Try it FREE for 30 days

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POCKET ROCK-IT™ Railcar Vibrators

This lightweight, high-performance vibrator unloads stubborn materials from closed top hopper cars safely and efficiently.

Includes a wedge bracket, hose whip, and regulator for easy setup
Weighs < 32 lbs, greatly reducing the risk of back injury
Quiet operation reduces noise pollution

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Why MARTIN®?

Feed mills are demanding — high throughput, difficult materials, grain dust hazards, and tight margins. Our product line is designed for optimal performance in these conditions. We offer ATEX-certified and explosion-proof options across our vibrator lineup, products purpose-built for trailer and railcar unloading, and application engineering to make sure the right solution goes in the right place. Feed mill ingredients vary widely in behavior and getting the application right matters.

Contact our application experts to discuss your feed mill handling challenges. Engineering and application assistance is always free.