The global animal feed market developed very moderately in 2004.  Investment activities in large plant and expansion projects were mainly focused on Eastern Europe and South America.  Large projects in North America and Western Europe, as well as Asia, were few and slow moving.  Asian investments were negatively affected by the avian influenza.  Western European investments were mostly modernizations and technological upgrades in connection with production plant consolidations.

In the aquatic feed segment, project activity within warm water and marine species has increased.  The salmon industry is still facing relatively low prices, leading to cautious investment activity in feed plants.

The project activity for plant expansions and greenfield projects with regional pet food producers was good throughout the year.  Larger producers made few investments in process technology.

The market for environmentally-friendly biofuel pellets, mainly from wood, continued to develop favorably in Western Europe, strongly driven by power plants converting to "green” energy fuels. This has led to increasing investment activities in pelleting plants in the forestry regions of Northern and Eastern Europe, as well as in North America.  Pelleting projects in support of improved combustion of waste from households and industries remained at a modest level throughout the year.