Over a year ago, Best Veterinary Solutions began construction of a 26,000-square foot production facility and warehouse in Ellsworth, IA. As BVS positions itself to meet customer needs, now and in the future, it became clear an additional production facility would be of great value. The Ellsworth plant is designed to blend and package all kinds of dry mixes. This complements the liquid blending and packaging facility in Willmar, MN.

The new building was divided up into functional areas. Each designed to provide optimal work space and environmental conditions for the activities of that room. With three different sized mixers, we can blend batches as small as 200 pounds to 4,400 pounds. BVS can offer products packaged in Mylar Packets, Bulk Pails or Cartons, Sewn Open Mouth Bags and Ton Totes.

Receiving – the addition has 2 docks and ample floor space to unload and check in all incoming ingredients and finished products. Quality Assurance starts with proper inspection, sampling and recording of each item by lot number. A 12’ x 24’walk-in cooler is in this area to store ingredients and finished products at a monitored 38 degrees.

Production Set-Up – this area is where all ingredients are gathered, weighed and recorded on production logs. Bulk ingredient bins each have a dedicated auger to avoid any cross contamination of those ingredients. The Production rooms and the Set-Up room have additional HVAC capabilities to maintain low humidity to keep ingredients in best condition. A wash bay provides a dedicated space to clean equipment and tooling. We also have a filling station for bulk products. Mixes or straight ingredients can be packaged in pails or cartons with liners for convenience and low cost.

Production Rooms – Each of the 2 rooms have mixing and packaging capabilities. The stainless-steel mixers are elevated so the ingredients can be loaded in the top and the mix discharged out of the bottom into the transfer bin. No augers or bucket elevators are used! The first room has a two-ton mixer and bagger to fill sewn top bags. This area is primarily used for feed grade additives. The other room has two stainless-steel mixers. A one-ton mixer and a small mixer for 200-500-pound projects. These mixers are primarily used for water soluble specialty products. A Form-and- Fill machine can package products from 20 grams to 2 pounds. All contact points with-in the production equipment are stainless steel for ease of cleaning and exceptional quality control. All ingredients and blends are transferred in pharmaceutical grade bins so cross contamination of products is mitigated.

Production Warehouse – This room holds the majority of raw ingredients and packaging. Finished Products can be staged here until released by Quality Control. Pallets can be stretch wrapped
for storage or shipment.

Finished Goods Warehouse – Products are stored for distribution to customers or other BVS warehouses and distribution centers. With this additional space BVS is able to isolate the Nutrition and Specialty additives from other product lines, enhancing product quality and biosecurity. A portion of this warehouse is used for a secure area for soluble antibiotics. The locked cage with temperature monitoring,
video camera and log books exceed all regulatory requirements.

The People – Building a world class facility gives BVS the opportunity to provide great products and services to the industry. That opportunity is realized through the commitment of all the employees. Chad Terrill, our Production and Ingredient Purchasing Manager has hired and trained a staff that enjoys and understands their role in providing quality and efficient manufacturing. Their pride shows in the products they make, their interest in developing their knowledge and skills, and commitment in keeping their work place clean and sanitary. Chad knows quality products start with quality ingredients. He has developed strong relationships with suppliers and works hard to provide the best value for BVS products. Over the past year or so we have come along way. From a vision and blueprints to a state-of- the-art production facility. This has been a great start! We are on the last phase of having our third-party certification completed. We have expanded our services to provide private label and custom manufacturing. Although we have selected equipment that provides a great deal of flexibility, we also knew we may need more. Each production room was built to accommodate an additional blending and packaging line. The electrical, compressed air, dust collection and work space are engineered to handle these demands. You can count on BVS to take care of your needs, now and in the future.

It is our pleasure to serve you!

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Author:

Steve Hartung, Director of Production