Croatia Broiler Feed Mill Achieves 96.8% PDI with Hongyang SZLH Ring Die Pellet Mill – A Case Study in Consistent Pellet Quality

Croatia’s poultry sector has recorded steady growth, with broiler slaughter reaching approximately 6,376 tonnes net weight in July 2024 according to Croatian Bureau of Statistics data. The country’s accession to the European Union in 2013 accelerated modernization across the agribusiness value chain, including compound feed manufacturing. However, many mid-tier feed mills in regions such as Slavonia — the agricultural heartland of Croatia — continue to operate pelleting lines built in the early 2000s, struggling with pellet durability inconsistency and rising maintenance costs.

This case study examines Krmiva d.o.o., a family-owned feed manufacturer based near Osijek in eastern Croatia, which replaced its aging European-origin ring die pellet mill with a Liyang Hongyang Feed Machinery SZLH 508 ring die pellet mill in early 2025. Over a 12-month production period, the mill achieved a pellet durability index (PDI) of 96.8% on broiler finisher formulations, maintained stable throughput at 6.2 tonnes per hour, and reduced die-related downtime by approximately 35%. The case illustrates how precision-engineered ring die technology, combined with responsive technical support from the manufacturer, can deliver measurable improvements in feed quality and operational stability — even for mills operating diverse raw material profiles common in Eastern European feed production.

Croatia’s compound feed production has been on an upward trajectory, driven by expanding domestic poultry consumption and EU-aligned food safety standards. As of 2024, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics reported monthly broiler slaughter volumes consistently above 6,000 tonnes net weight — representing a significant increase from the 3,000–4,000 tonne range recorded a decade earlier. This growth has placed corresponding demands on domestic feed manufacturers to increase output while maintaining pellet quality.

Feed costs account for approximately 65–70% of broiler production expenses in Croatia, mirroring the global industry average. In this cost structure, pelleting efficiency and pellet durability directly influence farm-level feed conversion ratios (FCR). Poor pellet durability leads to excessive fines, which studies have shown can increase FCR by 3–5 points in broiler operations — a margin that translates into thousands of euros in lost profitability over a single production cycle.

The Slavonia region, where Krmiva d.o.o. is located, is Croatia’s primary grain-producing area, with abundant corn (maize), wheat, and soybean cultivation. This geographic advantage provides local feed mills with competitive raw material access. However, the variability inherent in locally sourced grains — particularly moisture content fluctuations between harvest seasons — creates challenges for pelleting consistency. A ring die pellet mill operating in this environment must accommodate raw material variability without compromising throughput or pellet quality.

Krmiva d.o.o. (name anonymized at the customer’s request) is a mid-sized compound feed manufacturer established in 2002, located 15 kilometers south of Osijek in Osijek-Baranja County. The company produces approximately 30,000 tonnes of compound feed annually, of which broiler feed accounts for roughly 60%. Its customer base includes 40+ contract broiler growers across eastern Croatia, with some supplying major integrators serving the Croatian and Bosnian retail markets.

The mill operates a single pelleting line originally installed in 2005. By 2024, the line’s ring die pellet mill had accumulated nearly two decades of service. Key issues reported by the mill’s production manager, Mr. Marko Horvat, included:

In mid-2024, Krmiva d.o.o. initiated a procurement evaluation to replace its aging pellet mill. The evaluation considered three key criteria:

After evaluating suppliers from Germany, Turkey, and China, Krmiva selected Liyang Hongyang Feed Machinery Co., Ltd. The decision was influenced by several factors:

The SZLH508 was installed in December 2024 during a scheduled maintenance window, with commissioning completed in early January 2025. A Hongyang senior service engineer was on-site throughout the installation and commissioning period.

Ring Die Customization

Given the variability in Krmiva’s raw material inputs — specifically the moisture content of locally sourced corn ranging from 13.0% to 15.5% across seasons — Hongyang’s engineering team calculated an optimized ring die configuration:

Roller Shell Configuration

Matched roller shells were supplied with a corrugated surface pattern to ensure consistent feed gripping across the die face — a detail that prevents slippage during the critical initial seconds of each production run and contributes to even die wear over the die’s service life.

Performance data was collected over a full 12-month production period from January through December 2025, covering approximately 5,800 effective operating hours on the initial ring die.

5.1 Pellet Durability Index (PDI)

PDI testing was conducted using the Holmen NHP100 pneumatic pellet tester, with samples taken at 30-minute intervals during production runs.

5.2 Throughput Stability

Hourly throughput was recorded from the mill’s SCADA system. On the broiler finisher formulation (the highest-volume product):

The throughput stability (coefficient of variation of 4.5%) was noted by the operations team as a marked improvement. Under the previous pellet mill, throughput could swing by 15–20% depending on raw material batch characteristics, causing cascading inefficiencies in downstream cooling and screening.

5.3 Die Wear and Longevity

As of December 2025, the ring die had accumulated approximately 5,800 effective hours. Die hole diameter measurements indicated wear of approximately 0.08–0.12 mm, well within acceptable limits and suggesting a total service life of at least 6,500–7,000 hours before replacement — representing a die life improvement of roughly 120% compared to the previous equipment.

5.4 Fines Reduction

The reduction in fines from 9.2% to 3.1% had an immediate impact: grower complaints about feed wastage in automatic pan feeders dropped by over 70% in the first quarter of operation.

5.5 Energy Consumption

Specific energy consumption (kWh per tonne of pelleted feed, excluding ancillary equipment):

These figures are consistent with industry benchmarks for ring die pellet mills of this capacity class processing standard broiler formulations at 70–75°C conditioning temperature.

Mr. Marko Horvat, Krmiva’s production manager, provided the following assessment after 12 months of operation:

The performance improvements observed at Krmiva d.o.o. can be attributed to several technical factors:

The Krmiva d.o.o. case demonstrates that a mid-sized Eastern European broiler feed mill can achieve measurable and sustained improvements in pellet quality and operational stability through a well-engineered ring die pellet mill upgrade. The SZLH 508 delivered a 96.8% PDI on broiler finisher feed, a 6.2 TPH stable throughput, and a 120% improvement in die service life compared to the replaced equipment.

For Liyang Hongyang Feed Machinery, this installation reinforces the company’s capability to serve EU feed manufacturers — a market characterized by high quality expectations, diverse raw material profiles, and rigorous equipment performance scrutiny. The case underscores the value proposition of combining precision ring die manufacturing with application-specific engineering support: an approach that differentiates Hongyang from commodity equipment suppliers and positions the company as a credible partner for feed mills seeking equipment that performs consistently under real-world production conditions.

As Croatia’s poultry sector continues its modernization trajectory and domestic feed production expands to meet growing demand, equipment reliability and pellet quality consistency will remain decisive competitive factors. The Krmiva case suggests that the right ring die pellet mill, properly specified and supported, can make that difference.

This case study is based on production data and customer interview records collected between January and December 2025. Equipment specifications reflect the SZLH 508 ring die pellet mill as configured for Krmiva d.o.o. Pellet Durability Index measurements conducted using Holmen NHP100 methodology. All performance data was recorded under normal commercial production conditions. Customer company name anonymized at request.