Case Studies

The export by airfreight of fresh white fish fillets from Iceland and Norway has risen dramatically, with Icelandic producers being particularly profitable. Part of the reason for this is Iceland’s catch quota system which has reduced the cyclic nature of harvests and led to a more even supply of raw material of higher quality. Another reason for Iceland’s excellent performance is that many of its fish processors have invested in the latest generation of processing systems that help to maximize yields, increase throughput and efficiency, as well as optimize product quality, consistency and customer satisfaction.

Marel focuses on assisting fish processors in their efforts to achieve these goals, and one of the latest Icelandic processors to enlist the company’s help is Reykjavik-based Fiskkaup, the processing subsidiary of Jón Ásbjörnsson Export.

Fiskkaup processes 3500-5000 tonnes of raw material a year, focussing mainly on cod and haddock. All of the fresh fish processed by Fiskkaup is currently exported to the United Kingdom, where the company’s single biggest customer is the supermarket chain Waitrose.

Fiskkaup earlier this year bought and installed a complete Marel processing system to be able to produce a greater volume of top quality products with high flexibility. With its new equipment the company is now able to do almost whatever it wants − including producing fresh fillets, salted fish (fillets or ‘klipfisk’) and IQF frozen fillets or portions. There is an increasing demand in the saltfish market for lightly salted IQF frozen fillets, and Fisk Kaup’s new spiral freezer − bought as part of the package from Marel − is ideal for producing these products.

Some of the new Marel equipment the company has invested in includes a quality control station, two whole fish graders that in-weigh the raw material, the new IPM3 portioning machine, a third generation flowline with individual performance terminals and grading function, fresh pack line with M2200 scales, label printers and software to monitor fresh fish orders.  1500 kg/hour spiral freezer to freeze fillets or portions. Fiskkaup also has a salt fillet grader, scales and complete Innova software from Marel.

‘Waitrose is very happy with the quality of the products we are producing with the new line and want more,’ says Ásbjörn Jónsson. ‘So, we are trying to serve them better with more cod and haddock. We will increase the production of fresh fish this year, also cutting loins (the most expensive part of the fish) from the fillets. Our main focus in our processing is to be more flexible.’

The first step on receiving the fish at the factory is to key in all the quality related details into the Marel M6000 touch screen terminal: where and when the fish was caught, the boat or auction where it was bought, cleanliness of the tubs, temperature of the fish, the standard of icing, etc. This information goes straight into the plant’s computer system and eliminates much paperwork, says Baldvin Ingibergsson, Fiskkaup’s production director.

Marel's trimming line for white fish plays a key role in the company's flowline concept, and several things are new on third generation system, which Baldvin Ingibergsson likes very much.

The 14-station line has individual operator stations for trimming fillets. Each one has a worktable with terminal and bins for products and trimmings.

Product and trimmings from each person are weighed, so that his or her performance can be monitored and only the best trimmers chosen for this task. Others can be directed to do other tasks, such as packing, for which they may be better suited.

Each operator’s terminal shows his or her performance compared to the average of the line. So, when a bonus system is implemented and they fall below the average, they know they are under-performing. Performance is based on throughput, yield and quality, so the better they are at the job the more money they will earn.

In a recent survey at the plant, the lowest performing trimmer was seen to be achieving only 55 kg/h compared to 150 kg/h for the fastest trimmer, and this knowledge has helped Baldvin Ingibergsson to further improve throughput, yield and quality.