Bringing production lines up to full speed after a shutdown can cause off-spec product until processing parameters level off. Purina Mills' St. Joseph, MO, plant produces more than 150,000 tons per year of cattle, horse, chicken, hog and dairy feed. In an adjacent building, it also produces 4,000 tons per month of dairy pre-mix nuggets.
"We ship the 'nuggets,' or pellets, to other plants where they are used as part of a more complex feed," says Ed Cooper, maintenance manager at the plant.