With an annual production capacity in excess of 300,000 tonnes Fane Valley Feeds is one of the largest feed manufacturers in Northern Ireland and on the afternoon of the 18th November 2015 the local IET Young Professionals made a visit to their Bankmore mill in Omagh.
Fane Valleys history in Omagh stems from their purchase of the old Scots Feeds mill located in the centre of the town. Our tour guide, ex Production Director William McAusland, picked up the story of how this mill was no longer fit for purpose and Fane Valley made the decision to invest £18 million building what is their current mill.
This background proved a perfect recipe for a brilliant tour, as having been responsible for leading the process of designing the mill William gave an excellent insight into its construction. In addition, Head of Operations Ronan McCanny who facilitated and joined the tour, offered a working knowledge of the current operation of the business and the mill.
The tour started with the power supply to the mill in a visit to the electrical distribution room. Here an overview was given on the requirements of the mill and the unique situation in regards to fault current, in being next door to the 110KV substation. Particular notice was made of the meticulous wiring seen throughout the mill.
Many areas of interest where seen throughout the tour such as the automated dispatch bays, product quality control and the control system operating the plant which means many areas of the mill can operate with the lights out.
The aim of this tour was to introduce young professionals to EEE engineering in an industrial plant but as many in the group where from an agricultural background they benefited from a dual perspective, as throughout the tour the group were shown the processes in producing animal feed.
The tour finished with a discussion over a kindly provided cup of tea.
THANKS TO FANE VALLEY, WILLIAM AND RONAN FOR LEADING AND FACILATING A REALLY INTERESTING TOUR.