Milling & Grain Handling AUTOMATION
Automation solutions for grain handling and feed mill operations
NorthWind provides milling & batching and grain handling automation solutions to feed mills and grain processing facilities throughout the United States. Our control systems include milling, batching, grain conveyance, hazard monitoring, temperature and moisture monitoring, motor control, and automated loadout.
Batching Solutions for Milling & Grain
Accurate ingredient delivery and comprehensive lot tracking are essential for grain processing and milling operations. NorthWind’s batching solutions are designed for product consistency and ingredient traceability from raw materials to finished product.
Critical Capabilities for Grain Operations:
- Accurate ingredient delivery and weighing systems
- Complete lot tracking and traceability
- Integration of automated and manual ingredient additions
- Comprehensive batch documentation and reporting
Formula Management Software
NorthWind’s BatchLOGIX® formula management system delivers the precision your operation demands. Our system ensures accurate ingredient delivery while maintaining detailed records of every batch. Materials and finished products are mapped to specific containers, preventing cross-contamination and ensuring product integrity. >> Learn more about BatchLOGIX
Integrate Micro Ingredient Batching
- Integrate hand adds into your formulas and pair with our BatchMATE hand add station to automate tracking and tracing of manually added ingredients.
- With BatchMATE, ingredient usage and lot numbers are scanned as they are weighed, eliminating the need for paper tracking systems.
- Learn More about BatchMATE
Grain Conveyance
The cost of cross-contamination by adding a commodity to the wrong bin or shutdowns is high. NorthWind’s System allows for automatic bin inventory management and helps maintain safe operation of your equipment.
NorthWind systems are reading 500-700 temperature and moisture sensors throughout each bin. Hot spots are quickly detected, and drying/cooling zones can be tracked, leading to more efficient aeration management.
NorthWind’s control system integrates directly to your order system or ERP software for automated loadout. Our system reads the RFID tags on the trailers and automatically fills to order ensuring accurate and timely fulfillment.
Equipment and personnel safety is at the forefront of NorthWind’s control strategy. Hazard monitoring is used throughout the conveyance equipment and designed to shut down equipment if unsafe operating temperatures are reached or a slip in equipment belts occur.
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
BatchLOGIX® – A recipe management tool designed exclusively for recipe storage, campaign management and traceability. BatchLOGIX allows you to be as flexible as you need to be with your recipes. Customizable set points for both ingredients and process equipment can be configured in the system. Historical data can also be accessed through easily customized reports to target specific information using filters. Once created, reports can be exported to Excel, WORD, RTF, or PDF for sharing.
With NorthWind PlantLOGIX™ Security, users are able to log in and navigate seamlessly between all applications in your automation system. As an added safety feature, users are automatically logged out after a pre-set time of inactivity, helping to keep your system secure. The chip in employee badges can also be utilized with an RFID reader for user log in.
BatchMATE® – Hand batching ingredients is a necessary, but often error-prone step in most pet food facilities. BatchMATE helps eliminate operator error by quickly guiding them through the weighing process. Ingredient ID and lot numbers must be scanned before ingredients can be weighed, ensuring automated lot tracking and ingredient accuracy.
