Chile Salmon Feed Producer Achieves Superior Water Stability with Hongyang Ring Die Technology

Executive Summary

When a leading salmon feed producer in Chile’s Region X faced declining pellet water stability that threatened feed conversion ratios across its customer farms, the company turned to Liyang Hongyang Feed Machinery Co., Ltd. for a ring die solution. The result: water stability improved from 84% to 92%, annual feed waste reduced by approximately 1,200 metric tons, and production line energy consumption dropped by 12%. This case study examines the technical challenges, the customized Hongyang solution, and the quantifiable outcomes that have since made the Chilean producer a reference site for aquafeed pelleting excellence in Latin America.

1. The Chilean Salmon Feed Landscape

Chile is the world’s second-largest salmon producer after Norway, with annual harvests ranging between 700,000 and 800,000 metric tons. The country’s salmon farming industry, concentrated in Regions X, XI, and XII along the Patagonian coastline, requires approximately 1.1 to 1.3 million metric tons of formulated feed annually—making Chile the highest-value aquafeed market per metric ton in Latin America, accounting for 20–25% of regional fish feed value.

Salmon feed formulation is uniquely demanding. Unlike warm-water species feed, salmon diets contain 28–38% lipid content and require pellets that can withstand submersion in cold seawater (8–14°C) for extended periods without disintegrating. Poor water stability leads to nutrient leaching, uneaten feed sinking to the seabed, and elevated feed conversion ratios (FCR)—all of which directly impact farm profitability and environmental compliance.

The customer, a well-established feed manufacturer with an annual production capacity of 180,000 metric tons, operates three pelleting lines serving both its own salmon farming operations and third-party growers across southern Chile. The company had been experiencing progressively declining pellet durability and water stability from its oldest line, which was equipped with European-manufactured ring die pellet mills that had accumulated over 40,000 operating hours.

2. Technical Challenge: Water Stability Below Threshold

Water stability in salmon feed is typically measured as the percentage of dry matter retained after pellets are submerged in water for a defined period. Industry benchmarks for high-performance salmon feed require water stability of at least 88–90% after 30 minutes of submersion. The customer’s aging production line was consistently delivering 82–84%—below the competitive threshold required by Chilean salmon farmers.

Root cause analysis identified three interrelated factors:

- *Ring Die Wear and Geometry Degradation. After years of operation, the existing ring dies showed measurable bore wear, uneven compression ratio distribution across the die face, and reduced effective L/D (length-to-diameter) ratio in the pelletizing channel. These geometric changes led to inconsistent pellet density and compromised the physical integrity of finished pellets.

- *Inconsistent Steam Conditioning. The existing conditioner was delivering uneven moisture distribution, with temperature fluctuations of ±6°C during production runs. Optimal aquafeed conditioning requires steady temperatures of 80–95°C with moisture content maintained at 16–19% prior to die entry. The fluctuations were causing partial starch gelatinization, directly weakening pellet binding strength.

- *Energy Inefficiency. The aging drive system was consuming approximately 14.5 kWh per metric ton of finished feed—roughly 15–18% above the efficiency benchmark for modern ring die pellet mills in the 160–200 kW power range.

The customer evaluated multiple equipment suppliers across Europe and Asia before initiating discussions with Hongyang’s technical team.

3. Hongyang’s Solution: Customized HYPM Ring Die Pellet Mill

Hongyang dispatched a senior engineering team to the customer’s facility in Puerto Montt for a comprehensive on-site assessment. Over five days, the team conducted pellet durability index (PDI) testing, analyzed historical production data, and mapped the existing process flow. The assessment produced a detailed retrofit proposal centered on the HYPM series ring die pellet mill with the following specifications:

Three aspects of the Hongyang solution deserve particular attention:

- *Custom Compression Ratio Design. Salmon feed requires significantly higher compression ratios than livestock feed due to the high lipid content and the need for dense, water-stable pellets. Hongyang’s engineering team calculated the optimal 1:12 compression ratio based on the customer’s specific formulation—which includes approximately 32% fishmeal, 18% soybean meal, 22% fish oil, and 12% wheat flour as a binder—ensuring sufficient gelatinization pressure without over-compacting and damaging heat-sensitive nutrients.

- *Dual-Shaft Differential Conditioning. The double-shaft conditioner with independent speed control enabled precise management of retention time and mixing intensity. This design ensured uniform moisture penetration and starch gelatinization across the entire feed mash before die entry, directly addressing the inconsistent conditioning that had plagued the old line. Temperature stability during production runs improved to ±2°C.

- *Vacuum-Hardened Ring Die Metallurgy. Hongyang specified a proprietary alloy steel with vacuum hardening to HRC 58–60 for the ring die, providing superior wear resistance against the abrasive nature of high-ash fishmeal formulations. The die hole geometry was polished to Ra ≤ 0.8 μm surface roughness, reducing friction during extrusion and contributing to the energy efficiency gains.

4. Implementation and Results

Installation was completed during a scheduled 12-day maintenance window. Hongyang’s commissioning team remained on-site for an additional seven days to conduct production trials, optimize operating parameters, and train the customer’s shift operators.

After six months of continuous operation, the customer recorded the following results:

Water Stability (30 min): Before (Old Line)=84%, After (Hongyang HYPM)=92%, Improvement=+8 percentage points
Pellet Durability Index (PDI): Before (Old Line)=91.5%, After (Hongyang HYPM)=96.8%, Improvement=+5.3 percentage points
Production Throughput: Before (Old Line)=7.5 t/h, After (Hongyang HYPM)=10.2 t/h, Improvement=+36%
Specific Energy Consumption: Before (Old Line)=14.5 kWh/t, After (Hongyang HYPM)=12.8 kWh/t, Improvement=-12%
Ring Die Service Life: Before (Old Line)=~8,000 hours, After (Hongyang HYPM)=~12,000 hours (projected), Improvement=+50%
Fines Content (post-cooler): Before (Old Line)=3.5%, After (Hongyang HYPM)=1.2%, Improvement=-66%

The 8-percentage-point improvement in water stability translated to an estimated 1,200 metric tons of feed saved annually across the customer’s salmon farms—feed that would otherwise have disintegrated in seawater before consumption. At Chilean salmon feed prices averaging approximately USD 1,400 per metric ton, this represents roughly USD 1.68 million in annual feed cost avoidance.

The 12% reduction in specific energy consumption, combined with the 36% throughput increase, delivered a projected payback period of under 14 months for the capital investment.

5. The Hongyang Service Dimension

Beyond the hardware, the customer cited Hongyang’s technical support as a decisive factor in the project’s success. Key service elements included:

- Pre-installation Process Audit. The five-day on-site assessment provided the customer with a detailed baseline of existing line performance, allowing for accurate ROI projection before any purchase commitment.
- Operator Training Program. Hongyang conducted three full shifts of hands-on operator training covering die changeover procedures, conditioner parameter optimization, and preventive maintenance scheduling.
- Remote Diagnostics Support. The HYPM installation included sensor integration for remote monitoring of bearing temperatures, vibration signatures, and motor load—enabling Hongyang’s China-based engineering team to provide proactive maintenance recommendations.
- Spare Parts Stocking Recommendation. Hongyang provided a customized spare parts list calibrated to the customer’s production volume, ensuring critical components (ring dies, roller shells, bearings) were always available on-site without excessive inventory cost.

6. Conclusion

The Chilean salmon feed producer’s experience demonstrates that ring die pellet mill technology—when properly specified, customized to the formulation, and supported by competent engineering services—can deliver measurable improvements in aquafeed quality, production efficiency, and operating cost. Hongyang’s combination of customized compression ratio design, precision conditioning, and wear-resistant metallurgy addressed the specific challenges of high-lipid salmon feed pelleting that the customer’s previous equipment could not resolve.

For feed producers seeking to upgrade pelleting performance without the capital intensity of a full line replacement, the HYPM ring die pellet mill retrofit approach offers a pragmatic pathway to improved water stability, higher throughput, and lower energy consumption.

- This case study is based on actual production data collected from the customer’s facility between January and June 2026. Company and location details have been generalized at the customer’s request.*

- Liyang Hongyang Feed Machinery Co., Ltd. is a specialized manufacturer of ring dies, pellet mills, hammer mills, mixers, coolers, and complete feed production lines. Headquartered in Liyang, Jiangsu, China, the company has served over 2,000 feed producers across 60+ countries since its founding.*