Meneba Feed Ingredients -from flour miller to grain specialty provider!

Meneba began in the early 1900s as a miller of grains. However, the company discovered rather quickly that the milling of grains alone was not enough to garner a distinctive position for the company within the market. In the early 1970s, the company began searching for forms of grain processing which offered extra functionalities and would thus set Meneba apart within the market thus strengthening its market position. Morr than 30 years later, this process has finally borne fruit! Meneba is the largest "miller" in Europe and processes 1.8 million tones of grain per year, 550,000 tonnes of which is destined for the feed industry. With these quantities, the company accentuates its leading position as a grain specialist in the European market. Moreover, Meneba is the only flour/grain producer which is active on a large scale within the pet industry: more than 150,000 tonnes of grain specialty products are sold to international pet food producers.

Meneba has three factories in the Netherlands located in Rotterdam, Wormerveer and Weert, as well as three manufacturing facilities abroad, in Hasselt (Belgium), and Maldon and Kirkcaldy (U.K.). The Weert location is the factory in which the specialty products are produced; in this factory alone more than 100 types of grain products are manufactured in addition to the more than 200 types of flour that Meneba is capable of producing.

The sale of the pet food products takes place throughout Europe. Like many other manufacturers, Meneba is currently focusing on the further reinforcement of its market position in Central and Southern Europe.

However, in order to supply good quality quickly, it only serves those customers directly which are located within an 800-kilometre radius of its factories. For those countries which are located outside of this boundary, Meneba seeks out partnership/joint venture relationships with other suppliers.

Mission and R&D

Meneba's mission is to be a grain specialist within a controlled food chain. This mission has been accomplished in a variety of ways. It goes without saying that the company strictly complies with all of the legislative directives and other regulations, and naturally Meneba has obtained the GMP+, ISO 9001, HACCP, SKAL and BRC certifications. However, Meneba's true means of setting itself apart lies in its R&D programme. Thanks to its knowledge and expertise, it is in a position to derive the grain kernel as it were, and develop a variety of product characteristics which enrich pet food lines by adding extra functionalities to them through further processing using other raw materials. In this way, Meneba has been successful in being the first miller to separate a functional nutritional fibre from the wheat kernel. Meneba is capable of offering tailor-made solutions by combining the possibilities offered by a grain kernel with the specifications that a pet food customer is looking for.

It may thus rightfully be said that Meneba is a true specialist in this area. All sorts of products that grain kernels can supply are converted into applications which may be marketed. In short, innovation and creativity are important elements for Meneba. For example, there are also components which may be included in cat litter or even in bio-plastic products.

To summarise, in producing many of its nutritional products, whether they are for human consumption, or for agricultural feeds or pet foods, Meneba attempts to supply its products with extra nutritional functionalities, all of which are based on the possibilities the grain kernel offers. In some cases, the legal requirements can also represent a point of departure for product development at Meneba. For example: maximum contents of mycotoxins, heavy metals and residues, compulsory statement of E-numbers, required supply of wellness feeds to sows and calves, prohibition on antibiotics.

Furthermore, the company has explicitly elected to work GMO-free at all of its locations.

The Market and Production

The market demand for grain specialty products continues to rise. This may be attributed in particular to the unique characteristics that grain offers as a natural product. Because it is a natural product, grain falls under legislation and regulations other than those  which apply to ingredients of animal origin, vitamins, minerals, etc. In this way, processed grain can, for example, offer the same functionalities as starch. However, an E-number is not necessary for grain yet is required for treated starch.

In order to be able to truly fulfil it s role as specialist, Meneba recently opened a new "Multi-Purpose Plant" in Weert. This factory is fully automated (formula-driven) and includes a fully built-in tracing and tracking module. This makes it possible to determine down to the kernel where the wheat has gone after it leaves the factory, or where it has come from before being processed. This helps to guarantee the safety of the food such as is required by the government, customers, consumers and so on.

Another unusual characteristic of this factory is that it also has an extruder, dryer and (micro) miller. These three machines are carefully aligned with one another and make it possible to arrive at extremely unique product specialties. There are also possibilities to heat the product which provides Memeba with the opportunity to add extra functionalities and areas of application.

In short, thanks to this unique, fully automated machine combination, Meneba is in a position to operate both as a bulk  producer as well as a niche player.

Based on all of these possibilities that Meneba offers, it should not come as a surprise that many major top brand and private label manufacturers as well as many medium-sized players are also regular Meneba customers.

Their products also have a broad application in many pet food products such as :

Pelletised and extruded food, dinner and canned foods, snacks and dietary products, etc.

For further information:

www.mfi.menba.com

PETS International Magazine ISSUE 4,2004