Industry
Pet food processing equipment for Australia & NZ
VEMAG’s robust equipment is engineered for the demanding requirements of pet food production. From raw material handling to forming, portioning and packaging, our systems support consistent, high-volume output.
Production stages
Pet food machinery by production stage
Pet food production takes the raw material through a run of machines, each with one job: reduce it, mix or emulsify it, portion it, fill it, dry or smoke it, check it and pack it. The cards below sort the pet food machinery in our catalogue by the stage it serves, and each one opens every machine of that type.
Use them to find equipment, not as a line we have installed or a set of machines guaranteed to work together. The stages you need depend on whether you make wet food in cans and trays, minced or formed product, diced chunks or dried treats, so talk the process through with our sales team before you specify anything.
Grinding and separating
Grinders and mixing grinders for fresh and frozen raw material, and a separator that takes bone, cartilage and sinew out of ground product.
Emulsifying
Bowl cutters and a continuous vacuum emulsifier for the fine emulsions behind loaf and chunk-style wet pet food.
Vacuum filling and portioning
Vacuum fillers that meter the mass by weight and push it through a filling horn or attachment at the outlet.
Filling cans, jars, cups and trays
A can filling line, a can filling horn and a 4-up portioning system for putting measured portions into containers.
Drying and smoking
A drying and smoking system listed for dried pet food snacks as well as jerky, bacon and brisket.
Inspection and weight control
Metal detectors, X-ray inspection and checkweighers that find contaminated or out-of-weight product before it is packed.
Packaging
Thermoformers, tray sealers and vacuum packaging machines that close the finished product into a sealed pack.
For choosing a former by treat shape and tray placement, compare pet treat forming machines and prepare the product specification.
Wet pet food
Filling wet pet food into cans, jars, cups and trays
Wet pet food is usually sold in a can, jar, cup or tray, so the filling stage has to suit both the recipe and the container. A thin, gravy-style mixture and a coarse, sinewy one behave very differently at the outlet, and product left on the rim gets in the way of closing the pack.
FKF607 can filling line
Doses coarse, sinewy, pasty and lumpy products by weight into cans, jars and cups, at up to 120 containers a minute. Takes containers 53–99 mm across and 29–210 mm high, with fill volumes from 68 to 1,100 ml.
Can filling horn
Portions mixtures anywhere from liquid to highly viscous into a wide range of tin and jar formats and sizes, keeping the container edges clean. Product can be fed in from either side.
4-Up Portioning System
A portioning system with an integrated discharge conveyor, listed in our catalogue for wet pet food and ground meat.
HP10NX vacuum filler
Listed for wet pet food, with stepless portion weights from 1 g to 99,000 g and a filling capacity of up to 4,300 kg/h, depending on the feeding element.
The larger HP30NX in the same HPnx range is also listed for wet pet food, with a filling capacity of up to 7,600 kg/h. Which filler, filling horn or container filler suits your recipe and pack depends on the models involved, so confirm the combination with us before you buy.
Preparation
Grinding, separating and emulsifying raw material
Meat-based pet food starts much like meat processing: the raw material is reduced, mixed and cleared of hard pieces before it is portioned. Several of the grinders, separators and cutters in our catalogue are listed for pet food as well as meat.
AG 160 automatic grinder
A Seydelmann grinder whose wide conical feeding worm cuts fresh or cooked meat, pre-cut frozen meat and large pieces of meat or fat. 160 mm hole plate, up to 14,000 kg/h.
ME 130 mixing grinder
Mixes up to 100 kg in its 170-litre hopper, then grinds through a 130 mm hole plate at up to 3,000 kg/h.
Separator 813
Works at VEMAG grinders, separating bone, cartilage, sinew and other foreign matter from ground product as it runs.
KK 144 C Vacuum Konti Kutter
A Seydelmann emulsifier with a hole and cutting plate system for fine emulsions. Its data names pet food, with baby food and cheese, as a further application.
XP2 vacuum filler
A vacuum filler with a 160 mm inline grinder, used mainly for grinding minced meat. It handles mince with a frozen content above 70%; continuous running needs feed by belt or worm conveyor.
The Seydelmann K 20, K 40 and K 60 bowl cutters are listed for pet food too. A bowl cutter chops and emulsifies a batch in a rotating bowl, while the Konti Kutter works on a continuous flow of material.
Our guide to choosing a bowl cutter or emulsifier compares batch and continuous emulsifying.
Treats and chunks
Dicing, drying and smoking
Not all pet food goes into a can. Treats and dried snacks are cut to size and then dried or smoked, and diced pieces can go into recipes as chunks.
For a pet food extrusion project, define the prepared mixture, required shape and the process needed before and after forming. Feeding, portioning, filled products and alginate casing require different configurations.
Vetec Aeromat Cross Power
Dries and smokes meat products such as jerky and dried pet food snacks, using a horizontal air flow through the chamber.
Cubixx 100 LP dicer
Holac’s smallest fully automatic dicer, with a fully sealed loading chamber, a hydraulic pressure plate and an automatic guillotine cut-off. Listed for dry pet food.
VS150 dicer
A multipurpose dicer for pre-cutting meat and fat, with cutting grids from 6 × 6 mm to 75 × 75 mm and an output of up to 10,000 kg/h, depending on the product.
The larger Cubixx 120 and Cubixx 150 LP dicers, which take loose as well as pre-formed product, are listed for wet pet food.
Our pet food extruders guide explains the equipment roles, recipe details and trial requirements to discuss.
Inspection and packaging
Checking and packing the finished product
Pet food is usually checked for contaminants and weight before it is sealed into its pack. In our catalogue, the Pulsotronic M-Pulse2pro Inflex 65 is a mobile metal detector made to work with filling machines, the Aicon XR-500 HD X-ray system inspects unpacked product, and the VEMAG Process Check VPC716 weighs every portion on minced and formed product lines and regulates the vacuum filler from the result. All three are listed for pet food.
For packing, Variovac thermoformers such as the Primus form packs from film and seal them under vacuum, modified atmosphere or skin, and the Linus 1100 seals pre-made trays of PP, PE, PET, PS or aluminium. Supervac builds the conveyorised vacuum packaging machines and shrink tanks in the list.
Applications
Pet food applications
Choose the product you make to see the machines listed for it.
Wet Pet Food
Fill cans, cups, and trays cleanly and consistently, regardless of recipe or texture.
14 machines
Planning a pet food line
Before you specify a filler or a container filling system, work out the recipe and how it flows, the container and fill weight, the output you need, and what happens to the product before and after filling.
Food processing lines
Illustrative layouts, including a pet food processing line, and the details to prepare before you specify equipment.
Equipment
Machines used in pet food manufacturing
Every machine in the catalogue tagged for pet food manufacturing, grouped by machine type. Most are also used for meat, sausages or other foods. Open any machine for full details and to request a quote.
Vacuum fillers
8 machines
Grinders & mincers
3 machines
Bowl cutters & emulsifiers
5 machines
Slicers & dicers
7 machines
Depositors
4 machines
Thermoformers & packaging
14 machines
Tray sealers
4 machines
Conveyors & line equipment
2 machines
Inspection & weight control
4 machines
Cooking, smoking & drying
1 machine
Attachments & accessories
1 machine
Support
Service, spare parts and product trials
When a grinder or filler stops, everything after it waits. Our service technicians look after machines across Australia and New Zealand, our Spare Parts Department identifies and supplies genuine parts locally, and at our Customer Centre you can try machines with your own recipe under real production conditions before you invest.
Service and maintenance
Repairs, maintenance, installation and operator training from our own technicians.
Customer Centre
Run your own pet food recipe through a machine and talk it through with our specialists.
Questions
Pet food processing equipment questions
What pet food processing equipment does Vemag Australia supply?
Our catalogue covers grinders and a bone and sinew separator, bowl cutters and a continuous emulsifier, dicers, vacuum fillers, can, jar and cup fillers, a drying and smoking system, and metal detection, X-ray, checkweighing and packaging equipment. Extrusion and coextrusion enquiries are assessed around the recipe and required product format.
Which machines fill wet pet food into cans and jars?
The FKF607 portions pasty and lumpy product by weight into cans, jars and cups at up to 120 a minute, and the can filling horn fills tins and jars with mixtures from liquid to highly viscous. The 4-Up Portioning System is also listed for wet pet food. Tell us your recipe and container and we will point you to the machines worth a closer look.
Can meat processing machines make pet food?
Many of the machines in our catalogue are listed for both. The grinders, vacuum fillers, dicers and inspection equipment on this page also appear on our meat and sausage pages. A pet food recipe behaves differently from meat trim in the hopper and at the hole plate, so trial yours before you settle on a model.
For grinders, our guide to meat mixer grinders compares the range.
Can I trial my own pet food recipe before I buy?
At our Customer Centre you can try machines with your own products under real production conditions. Ask us which machines are available for your recipe when you get in touch.
Do you support pet food producers in New Zealand as well as Australia?
Yes. We have offices in Australia and New Zealand, and our sales team, service technicians and spare parts support cover both countries.
Brands
Brands in this industry
The manufacturers whose machines are listed above. Open a brand to see all of its machines in the catalogue.
15 machinesVEMAG
Vacuum fillers, dough portioners and attachments for filling, portioning, forming and loading food and pet food.
8 machinesSupervac
Vacuum packaging machines with shrinking, cooling and drying equipment.
7 machinesVariovac
Thermoforming packaging machines, tray sealers and packaging line equipment.
7 machinesSeydelmann
Cutters, grinders, mixers, emulsifiers and production lines for meat and food processing.
6 machinesHolac
Dicers, slicing machines, strip cutters and cheese cutters for meat, cheese, fish and vegetables.
2 machinesRoss
Meat and food processing equipment and tray sealers, from tenderisers and slicers to chillers and the INPack tray sealers.
2 machinesAicon X-Ray
X-ray inspection systems for food and other packaged products.
1 machineVetec
Installations for the thermal treatment of food: smoking, cooking, cooling and drying.
1 machineJLS
Hygienic, vision-guided robotic packaging systems for food: product loading, cartoning and case packing.
1 machinePulsotronic
Metal detection and inspection systems for food and other production lines.
Contact
Talk to our team about your production
Contact the Australian or New Zealand office for advice, service enquiries or to arrange a consultation — by phone, by email or through the enquiry form.
- Australia(07) 3829 3868
- New Zealand+64 9 415 0137
- Salessales@vemag.com.au