GEA has rounded out its xTru Twin series of high-capacity extruders for the food and pet food industries with the 140 model. 

The top-of-the-range machine is equipped with an advanced profile; powered screws provide users up to 40% increased capacity with the equivalent efficiency, quality and footprint to previous models. The technology can also be applied to the other models of the GEA xTru Twin extruders too – models 70/92/112 – and retrofitted to older machines to increase their capacity without changing the floorplan of the factory. 

The extruders enable products including cereal-based snack pellets die-cut, 2D, 3D, multilayers, square shape, punched and direct expanded; breakfast cereals; dry pet food; and any other extruded food product. 

The 140 model has a production capacity of more than three tons of pellets and 10 tons of pet food kibbles an hour. It also features increased cross-sectional area, rotation speed and pitch of the screws while maintaining the extruder footprint and screw length. This also allows customers to upgrade existing machines without changing the plant layout, GEA says. 

Other key features of the range include a high-speed premixer for hydrating flour and a large, curved mixing vessel for water absorption and adhering to the requisite hygiene standards. With its co-rotating, fully intermeshing twin screws, a modular barrel assists in properly cooking cereal-based dough. 

GEA developed the technology in response to customers’ requests and the market’s need for a single, high-capacity machine capable of producing a range of food shapes.