• Applications
• Industry

• Why Pet Food Ingredients Are Difficult to Handle

  Pet food formulations draw from a wide range of raw materials, and many are problematic in bulk handling systems:

  • Meat meal and bone meal are dense, fatty, and prone to caking and wall buildup, particularly in warm or humid environments
  • Fish meal is highly cohesive and sticky, making consistent hopper and bin discharge a persistent challenge
  • Vitamin and mineral premixes are extremely fine, low-density powders that bridge easily and resist metering
  • Starches and grain flours are hygroscopic, absorbing ambient moisture and clumping during storage and transfer
  • Rendered animal proteins vary in particle size and fat content batch to batch, creating unpredictable flow behavior
  • High-fat or high-moisture ingredients tend to build up on chute and hopper surfaces rather than flowing cleanly
  • Specialty ingredients — such as probiotics, functional additives, and nutraceutical supplements — are fine, high-value, and sensitive to handling conditions
• Pet Food Ingredients Handled

  Our equipment handles the full range of dry and semi-dry pet food ingredients:

  • Meat meal and bone meal
  • Fish meal and fish powder
  • Poultry by-product meal
  • Grain flours and starches (corn, wheat, rice, tapioca)
  • Soybean meal and plant-based proteins
  • Vitamin and mineral premixes
  • Salt and mineral additives
  • Rendered animal fats
  • Fiber ingredients (beet pulp, cellulose)
  • Probiotic and specialty supplement powders
  • Extruded kibble (post-production handling and packaging)
• Where Our Products Fit in the Supply Chain

  Material handling challenges exist at nearly every stage of pet food production — from raw ingredient receiving through finished product packaging.

  Ingredient Receiving & Storage Bulk ingredients arrive by truck and railcar into large storage silos and bins. Meat meals, grain flours, and mineral premixes all require flow assistance — particularly after sitting in storage where caking and compaction occur.

  Batching & Weighing Inconsistent discharge rates directly affect batch accuracy and finished product quality. Vibration at the hopper and feeder level ensures steady, repeatable ingredient delivery to the scale or mixer.

  Mixing & Conditioning Bridging and ratholing as ingredients transfer into mixers and conditioners can cause ingredient starvation, affecting blend uniformity and extrusion performance.

  Extrusion & Drying Consistent feed rate into the extruder is critical to maintaining product shape, density, and cook quality. Post-extrusion, dried kibble moves through conveyors and transfer systems where settling and compaction equipment may be needed.

  Coating & Enrobing Dry palatant powders are difficult to meter consistently and benefit from vibration assistance at the dosing stage.

  Packaging & Finished Product Vibratory settling and compaction equipment ensures accurate fill weights, eliminates voids, and improves package density for efficient shipping.

• Operational Benefits for Pet Food Manufacturers

  The right vibration solution, properly placed, delivers measurable improvements across throughput, consistency, and cost:

  • Consistent ingredient discharge from silos and bins eliminating production stoppages
  • More accurate batching and weighing supporting tighter formulation control
  • Reduced manual intervention in ingredient handling and transfer
  • Less product loss from incomplete discharge and material buildup
  • Improved packaging accuracy and fill weight consistency
  • Better dust control with fine premix and additive powders
  • Complete offloading from bulk delivery trucks and railcars

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^® TAP & PAC™ Compacting Vibrators

This compacting vibrator is ideal for settling material in bags and containers.

• Great for packaging applications
• Independently adjustable speed and amplitude
• Retracting piston eliminates potential interference with containers

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MARTIN^® Bantam Series of Miniature Air Vibrators

These are compact pneumatic vibrators engineered for small hoppers and tight spaces.

• Designed for food and pharmaceutical applications
• Provides powerful, performance in a mini size
• Works with Stick & Shake™ Adhesive Mounting System

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MARTIN^® VAC-MOUNT™ Portable Vibrators

This mount uses vacuum suction allowing for quick, easy installation and portability.

• Designed for applications requiring flexibility and portability
• Can be mounted wherever hangups occur
• No welding required

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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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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^® 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^® E-Z™ Vibratory Feeders

These stainless steel feeders are ideal for food, bakery, chemical and pharmaceutical applications.

• Simple design ensures reliability and ease of maintenance
• Handles feeding applications up to 8 tons per hour
• Flat, vee, or custom trays available

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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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Why MARTIN®?

Pet food manufacturing is a bulk material handling business from the receiving dock to the packaging line — and bulk material handling is what we do. Our engineers work with your specific materials, vessel configurations, and process requirements before recommending equipment. Pet food ingredients vary widely in behavior, and we have products suited to every point in the process — from fine vitamin premixes to dense rendered proteins — including options designed for the sanitation and wash-down demands of modern food manufacturing facilities.

Contact our application experts to discuss your pet food ingredient handling challenges.