ANDRITZ highlights efficiency, digitalisation and value-chain optimisation at AFMASS Zambia

ZAMBIA – The ANDRITZ Feed & Biofuel Customer Day, held on the third day of the AFMASS Zambia & Southern Africa 2026 Expo, brought together millers, feed manufacturers, grain processors and industry stakeholders in Lusaka to explore how technology, operational efficiency and value-chain optimisation can improve competitiveness in Southern Africa’s feed and milling industries. 

The discussions took place against a backdrop of rising regional demand for animal protein, increasing feed consumption, and heightened pressure on production costs, particularly due to volatility in energy and raw materials.

Zambia remains a strategically important maize and feed hub in the region. 

According to national food balance sheet data, the country’s total maize requirement is approximately 3.54 million tonnes annually, including feed demand of over 400,000 tonnes, as well as food, brewing, and industrial use requirements. 

In 2025/26, Zambia recorded a maize surplus of about 500,000 tonnes, driven by improved harvests and favourable rainfall conditions, creating both opportunities for feed expansion and export-driven price pressures.

A central theme throughout the discussions was the need for African processors to improve productivity while maintaining consistent product quality in increasingly competitive domestic and export markets.

“The biggest topic nowadays is about how do you optimise the production cost… if you are buying raw material at the right prices, in the right quantities at the right time, what we can bring is technology that can handle raw materials of various kinds,” said Faisal Baig, Africa Managing Director, Andritz Dubai, speaking on global industry trends and technology positioning.

He noted that efficiency in energy-intensive processes, such as drying, is becoming a key differentiator, especially since dryers alone can account for 50–60% of plant energy consumption in feed and pet food operations. 

The session also highlighted the potential to increase profits by up to 15% through control of moisture variability, underscoring the financial impact of process stability in modern feed production.

Zambia’s value-addition drive and feed sector potential

Local industry representatives emphasised that Zambia’s agricultural position provides a strong foundation for expanding the feed sector, particularly as the country shifts towards value addition and regional trade integration.

“Zambia is in need of industrialisation, and we are in need of the technologies of such nature because the president’s core has always been value addition to every grain that we produce as Zambia,” said Kafim Bindima, a mill operator and representative of the local business community.

He noted that Zambia’s maize surplus of over 500,000 tonnes creates additional raw material availability for feed manufacturing and export-oriented processing, especially into deficit markets such as the DRC, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

He added that Zambia’s position as a land-linked economy offers strategic access to regional markets, particularly within Southern and Central Africa, where demand for feed and processed agricultural products continues to grow.

ANDRITZ representatives stressed that technology deployment in emerging markets must be adapted to local conditions, with modular plant systems increasingly being adopted to reduce project timelines and improve scalability. 

The discussion also highlighted that larger global players are now adopting modular approaches to accelerate market entry in developing regions.

Maintenance discipline, digitalisation and supply chain resilience

Operational reliability and maintenance discipline were identified as critical drivers of feed mill performance, particularly in increasingly competitive regional markets where uptime directly impacts profitability.

“Maintenance is critical. The plant is your kitchen… you need to bake an end product that is acceptable to the market, and you cannot do that if your plant is not properly maintained,” said Johannes Bolosha, Andritz Africa Sales Manager, highlighting the importance of aligning maintenance and production functions.

ANDRITZ also addressed ongoing supply chain challenges, noting that post-COVID lead times for equipment and spare parts have ranged from 20 to 30 weeks, depending on component type and sourcing.

To address this, the company outlined its strategy of regional warehousing, predictive spare parts planning, and localisation of critical components such as dies and wear parts, with manufacturing now distributed across Europe, China and North America to reduce lead times.

Digitalisation was also a key focus, with the Metris platform and predictive maintenance tools presented as part of a broader shift towards condition-based monitoring. 

Using vibration and performance data, the system is designed to detect early signs of equipment failure in rotating machinery, such as pellet mills, hammer mills, and fans, operating above 100 RPM.

The discussion concluded with a broader reflection on Africa’s position as a strategic growth market, with speakers noting that, while Europe and the Americas are largely saturated, Africa continues to offer strong long-term expansion potential driven by livestock growth, rising protein demand, and the increasing industrialisation of feed production systems.

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