The largest Norwegian feed compounder Felleskjøpet Agri, has as the first feed company in the world installed a real time, instant feedback NIR (Near Infra Red) system in one their factories.
The system, called APIS Spektron Feed, was installed in the autumn 2007, have been thoroughly tested and will be installed in the next factory later this year.APIS Spektron Feed measures feed quality parameters and instantly presents the results as numbers and graphs.The well known NIR technology is combined with specially designed software to achieve a system that gives instant feedback to operators, supervisors and quality personnel, enabling fast corrective actions.Manual feed analysis results (e.g. dust or durability) as well as relevant process parameters (eg. temperature) may also be included and presented.Differences to traditional NIRThere are significant differences between APIS Spektron Feed and traditional NIR systems used in laboratories. APIS Spektron Feed is designed for use in industrial environments and the measurement gauge is mounted over conveyor belts or in bulk conveyors.APIS Spektron Feed features include
Presentation of recipe refined targets and tolerances (min/man values)
Measurements and presentation updates may be done every second
Immediate alarms when measurements are outside defined tolerances
Presents continuous actual product cost (as a function of process cost, ingredient cost, actual production and capacity)
Reports with report filters, graphs and numbers
WEB based system – meaning easy access to the system over company intranet or internet. The new product, called APIS Spektron Feed, is developed and sold by the Norwegian company Prediktor.