Cats would buy shares in Kuhn if they could

One more lick of the velvet paw held up to its mouth, and it purrs quietly, pleased with itself, with the world – and with its food. Puss has in fact just devoured a good-sized portion of lamb stew, to its great satisfaction.

Kneading, mixing, cooking, portioning

Anyone who owns a cat knows well how picky they are. They might treat their proffered food with contemptuous disdain, or enthusiastically gobble it up at a single sitting. In their efforts to ensure the latter, manufacturers of cat food set great store by quality. This involves – among other things – metal components made by Kuhn Special Steel. The extruders used in production, for example, contain tubes and rings supplied by us.

Extrusion is at the heart of many of the processes used in animal feed production. It is extruders that knead, mix, cook and portion such products as dry cat food. The production requirements of pet feed are similar to those of food for human consumption, so all the ingredients need the corresponding official approvals. This also applies to our rings and tubes, which are designed to do even more – including maximum resistance to wear and tear. Extruder shafts rotate at speeds of up to 450 rpm, which also poses a great challenge for all the other components involved. The sealing performance of these machine parts is also vital, and 100% dimensional accuracy ensures that there is no outside contamination of the animal feed products being handled. It is for this reason that Kuhn Special Steel manufactures its rings and tubes to tolerances of hundredths of a millimetre.

Cats have an almost forensic sense of smell, and would soon detect any contamination that might be present. So the next time you hear your cat purring, remember that it might well be thinking of food; food made with the help of Kuhn Special Steel.