Executive Summary
Colombia’s swine sector is in the midst of a sustained expansion, with national pork production reaching 663,875 tonnes in 2025 — a 9.1% increase over the prior year — and compound feed output for the pig segment accounting for 26.5% of the country’s 13.2 million-tonne total feed production, according to ANDI and DANE data. In this high-growth environment, integrated swine producers operating their own feed mills face a singular operational imperative: consistent, uninterrupted throughput. This case study examines a vertically integrated swine operation in Antioquia — Colombia’s largest pork-producing department, contributing 41.8% of national output — that replaced its OEM ring dies with custom-engineered dies from Liyang Hongyang Feed Machinery Co., Ltd. Over a six-month evaluation period, the Hongyang dies maintained a stable 10 tonnes per hour throughput with no measurable throughput decline attributable to die wear, delivered pellet durability index (PDI) averaging 94.2%, and extended effective die service life by approximately 40% compared to the previous supplier. The die cost per tonne of feed produced dropped by 16%.
1. Colombia’s Swine Feed Sector: Scale, Pressure, and the Imperative of Stability
Colombia’s animal feed industry produced 13.2 million tonnes in 2025, a 20.2% year-on-year increase that far outpaced the five-year average growth rate of 7.1%, per the ANDI Sectoral Chamber of the Animal Feed Industry. Swine feed accounted for 26.5% of this total — roughly 3.5 million tonnes — making it the second-largest feed segment after poultry.
The production geography is highly concentrated. Antioquia alone contributes 41.8% of Colombia’s pork output, with Bogotá (15.1%), Valle del Cauca (15.2%), and Meta (10.2%) accounting for most of the remainder. Pork consumption in Colombia continues to rise, yet imported pork — 176,758 tonnes in 2025, predominantly from the United States (69.3%), Canada (14.8%), and Chile (11.6%) — maintains pressure on domestic producers to compete on both price and quality.
For integrated swine operations that mill their own feed, the pellet mill is the heartbeat of the entire nutritional program. Any throughput fluctuation, quality drift, or unplanned stoppage cascades directly into finishing barns. In an industry where feed represents 65–70% of total production cost and where finishing weight consistency is a key commercial metric, production stability is not a “nice-to-have” — it is the operational foundation.
2. The Customer’s Problem: Throughput Fade and Rising Fines as Dies Aged
The subject of this case study is a vertically integrated swine producer headquartered in Antioquia. The operation encompasses breeding, nursery, grow-finish, and an on-site feed mill built around a European-manufactured pellet mill with a rated capacity of 10 tonnes per hour. The mill produces grower and finisher swine rations — predominantly corn-soybean meal formulations with 14–16% crude protein, 3.0–3.5% crude fat, and 5–7% crude fiber — for both internal consumption and a network of contract growers.
For several years, the mill had sourced ring dies from the pellet mill’s original equipment manufacturer. While these dies performed acceptably during the first third of their service life, the mill’s production manager identified a recurring pattern that was eroding operational confidence:
Throughput fade starting at approximately 500 running hours. The OEM dies, specified with a 4.5 mm hole diameter and a nominal 1:9 compression ratio, delivered 10.0–10.2 t/h during the initial break-in and the first 400–500 hours. Beyond this point, throughput began to decline — slowly at first, then more sharply — reaching 9.0–9.2 t/h by 700 hours and falling below 8.5 t/h by the time the die was replaced at approximately 850–950 hours. The gradual nature of the decline made it difficult to schedule around: it was not a catastrophic failure but a slow bleed of productive capacity.
Rising fines content in finished pellets. Fines measured at the cooler discharge increased from 2.5–3.0% with a fresh die to 6–8% in the later stages of die life. In a swine feeding operation, excessive fines create multiple negative downstream effects: feed segregation in bulk bins and conveying systems, reduced palatability, and measurable increases in feed wastage at the trough. The mill’s nutritionist estimated that every 1% increase in fines correlated with a feed conversion ratio (FCR) penalty of approximately 0.01–0.02 points in grow-finish pigs.
Unplanned die changeovers disrupting production schedules. With effective die life averaging 850–950 hours, the mill was replacing ring dies every five to six weeks. Each changeover consumed 3–4 hours of production time — roughly 30–40 tonnes of lost output per event — plus labor and the logistical friction of maintaining safety stock of replacement dies shipped from Europe.
3. Hongyang’s Engineering Assessment and Die Specification
In early 2025, the mill’s operations team initiated contact with Liyang Hongyang Feed Machinery Co., Ltd. through an industry trade connection. Rather than simply quoting on an equivalent specification, Hongyang’s technical team requested detailed operating data and conducted a systematic review before proposing a custom die:
- Feed formulation analysis: corn-soybean meal base with moderate fat (3.0–3.5%) and fiber (5–7%)
- Grind particle size: geometric mean diameter of 650–700 μm (target for swine grower-finisher rations)
- Conditioning parameters: steam conditioning at 75–80°C with 45–60 seconds retention time
- Pellet mill operating data: motor load profiles, throughput logs, and historical die wear measurements from the previous six die change cycles
Based on this assessment, Hongyang specified a custom ring die with the following parameters:
Parameter Previous OEM Die Hongyang Custom Die
Die inner diameter × working width 520 mm × 180 mm 520 mm × 180 mm
Hole diameter 4.5 mm 4.5 mm
Effective compression ratio 1:9 (nominal) 1:9.5 (formulation-optimized)
Hole inlet design Standard countersink Tapered relief inlet (reduced inlet angle)
Material X46Cr13 (AISI 420 equivalent) 4Cr13 with vacuum hardening
Hardness HRC 52–54 (surface-biased) HRC 55–57 (uniform cross-sectional)
Hole surface finish Standard gun-drilled Gun-drilled + multi-stage honing to Ra ≤ 0.4 μm
The critical differentiators were threefold: first, the vacuum hardening process provided uniform hardness through the entire cross-section of the die — not merely on the inner working surface — ensuring that as the die wore, the wear rate remained consistent rather than accelerating once the hardened surface layer was consumed. Second, the slightly elevated compression ratio (1:9.5 vs. 1:9) was selected to optimize starch gelatinization for the specific corn-soy formulation, improving pellet binding without generating excessive friction heat or parasitic power draw. Third, the tapered relief inlet geometry — a design feature in which the hole inlet is gradually relieved rather than abruptly countersunk — reduced the peak pressure required to force meal into the die holes, lowering both energy consumption and internal stress on the die material.
4. Six-Month Operational Results
The first Hongyang ring die was installed in June 2025. The mill’s production team tracked performance over a full six-month evaluation period encompassing two complete die service cycles. The results were documented as follows:
Throughput Stability
This was the most significant and commercially impactful improvement. The Hongyang die sustained 10.0–10.1 tonnes per hour throughout the full 1,300-hour effective service life with no statistically measurable throughput decline. Motor current draw remained within the manufacturer’s specified operating range (85–92% of rated load) at all measurement points, confirming that the 1:9.5 compression ratio did not impose parasitic energy costs. The gradual throughput fade that had characterized the previous OEM dies — dropping from 10 t/h to below 9 t/h over the die life — was effectively eliminated.
Pellet Quality
PDI, measured using the standard Kansas State University tumbling can method, averaged 94.2% across the die life, with a range of 93.5–95.0%. Fines content at the cooler discharge averaged 2.8%, compared to a range of 2.5–8.0% with the OEM dies. The stability of pellet quality over time — rather than a high peak followed by a long decline — was the primary quality benefit from the mill’s perspective.
Die Life and Economics
The first Hongyang die was removed at 1,300 hours — not due to quality failure but as a scheduled change based on the mill’s preventive maintenance calendar. Wear measurements indicated that a further 100–150 hours of effective service life remained, suggesting a practical replacement interval of 1,350–1,400 hours. This represents approximately a 40–45% extension over the previous 850–950-hour replacement interval. At a delivered cost approximately 12% lower than the OEM dies, the Hongyang die reduced the die cost per tonne of feed produced from approximately USD 2.70 to USD 2.27 — a 16% reduction.
Downstream Impact on Swine Performance
While this case study did not include a controlled feeding trial, the mill’s nutritionist tracked farm-level FCR data before and after the Hongyang die transition, using flocks of similar genetics and health status. The aggregated data suggested an FCR improvement of approximately 0.03–0.04 points in grow-finish pigs (e.g., from 2.68 to 2.65). While multiple factors influence FCR and a precise attribution is not possible, the reduction in fines in the finished feed — and the corresponding reduction in feed wastage and segregation — was identified as a likely contributing factor. At the operation’s annual production volume, even a 0.03 FCR improvement translates to approximately USD 35,000–45,000 in annual feed cost savings.
5. Hongyang’s Service Model: Engineering Before Sales
The mill’s production manager identified two aspects of the Hongyang engagement that differentiated it from previous supplier relationships:
Pre-dispatch remote technical review. Before the first die was shipped, Hongyang’s engineers conducted a video-assisted inspection of the pellet mill’s roller assembly, die clamp mechanism, and conditioner discharge gate. This identified a roller shell that was approaching the end of its recommended service interval — a detail unrelated to the ring die itself but one that, if left unaddressed, would have caused uneven pressure distribution and compromised the performance of any new die, regardless of quality.
Regional stocking and logistics. Hongyang maintains a growing inventory of commonly specified ring dies for Latin American pellet mill models, with air freight delivery to major Colombian ports within 8–12 working days. For the Antioquia mill, this reduced supply lead time compared to European-origin dies shipped by sea freight and cleared through customs in Cartagena — a process that had previously taken four to six weeks.
6. Conclusion
Colombia’s swine industry is in a structural growth phase. Feed production in the pig segment exceeded 3.5 million tonnes in 2025 and is projected to continue expanding as per capita pork consumption rises and domestic producers compete against imported product. In this environment, feed mill reliability is not a technical detail — it is a commercial weapon. Every hour of stable, consistent production translates directly into finishing barn throughput, weight gain consistency, and cost competitiveness.
The Antioquia case demonstrates that ring die performance is not determined solely by the reputation of the equipment manufacturer or the country of origin. A die engineered for the specific formulation, operating conditions, and performance targets of each individual mill can outperform a generic OEM component — even when fitted to the same pellet mill. Hongyang’s approach — formulation-specific compression ratio selection, vacuum hardening for uniform cross-sectional hardness, tapered relief inlet geometry, and engineering assessment before recommendation — enabled the Antioquia mill to achieve throughput stability, extended die life, lower cost per tonne, and measurable improvements in downstream feed utilization.
As integrated swine producers across Latin America seek to optimize their feed milling operations, the ring die — a component often treated as a routine consumable — deserves to be treated as a precision-engineered strategic asset. The data from this case study suggests that doing so can yield returns far exceeding the modest price differential between a generic die and one engineered for purpose.
*This case study is based on operational data collected between June and December 2025 at a commercial swine feed mill in Antioquia, Colombia. Feed formulation details, specific throughput figures outside stated ranges, and proprietary operational data have been generalized to protect the customer’s confidentiality. All industry statistics cited are drawn from publicly available data published by ANDI (Sectoral Chamber of the Animal Feed Industry), DANE (Colombia’s National Administrative Department of Statistics), and Porkcolombia as of early 2026. Hongyang ring die specifications reflect standard product offerings available as of Q2 2025.*
Post time: May-30-2026
