4 minutes to traceability, JK Thomson finds the digital advantage

JK Thomson began in the busy fishing village of Port Seton, Scotland in 1962. James King Thomson, a local fish monger, saw an opportunity to developing a product range which attracted a lasting customer base. It was a success and JK Thomson was born. The workforce increased with demand and the company soon moved to larger premises in Musselburgh, Scotland. Today, Musselburgh is a state-of-the-art processing facility supplying domestic and international markets with a wide variety of seasonal whole and filleted fish.

The reliance on manual operations and mountains of paperwork were hampering efficiency and future growth. In response, in 2010, JK Thomson began their digitalization journey, installing Marel Software solutions to improve traceability, yield, and stock control and enable scalability for planned growth.

After intake, fish go through a small amount of grading before moving directly to the filleting. Most fish are sold whole or filleted in various cuts, with a small percentage heading to further processing. Marel’s Manual Trimming and Filleting solution gathers accurate data of specific yields, including starting and finishing weights. “In recent years, yields have become much more important. Bringing in the AXIN software system we can start measuring and monitoring. AXIN software allows us to see the whole line down to individual filleters.” says Robinson. “By knowing precisely what our starting yield is, we can see areas of improvement. It used to take line supervisors about an hour every day to pull together aggregate yields; with the trimming software they can access specific worker data straight away.”

The Manual Trimming and Filleting software solution enables achievable goal setting. Managers can view historic data and explore and compare correlations before implementing any changes to the line. “Having experienced people in the right places, such as deheading, has improved yield and line speed.” said Robinson. With data in real-time, decisions that positively impact production can be made when it will provide the highest value outcome.

Audits made easy

JK Thomson were already conscious of traceability with an effective barcode system in place to enable product tracking. Marel software solutions enhance traceability by automating tracking even further, with easily accessible detail such as temperatures collected at key points to ensure the highest levels of food safety.

Implementation challenges

“The first thing we gained was good information, but it was a hurdle getting staff to buy into the changes,” Robinson said about implementation. Matt Gibson, Technical Manager at JK Thomson agrees, “For the first six or seven years, we stuck to what was initially installed. We tried to adapt the way we worked to suit the system.”

Onboarding any new system has its difficulties. It is natural for current systems to rub against those being introduced. When the advantages become clearer, adapting becomes a lot easier.

“In 2024, we went to the Software KnowHow in Copenhagen. It really opened our eyes. There were a number of improvements we could make that would help us utilize the system a lot more efficiently throughout the factory,” Gibson.

Robinson agrees, “It has taken a while to get the right data and understand what AXIN software can do for us. He said, “Now, working closely with Marel support, we’re getting a lot more information coming through that we can use to set a lot more realistic goals.”

Following Software KnowHow, JK Thomson expanded their AXIN Software system, adding Quality Control (QC) module, Stocktake and Label design.

With a clear process in place and digital devices that allow staff to stay on the floor with the products, staff can quickly enter data with predefined responses without skipping any steps in the process. The added advantage of the system is simplifying training and retraining for staff.

When first installed, the QC line recorded general intake information, but JK Thomson soon saw the possibilities, developing intake data to include records of weight, color, species and more, enabling contrast and comparison of supplier quality and the ability to immediately manage inferior products.

Instead of continuing with a third-party option, after Software KnowHow, JK Thomson switched to using a feature of EOL solution, the Labeling Software. “It is very simple to use and create exactly what we need to label products,” said Gibson. “We also send a lot of products abroad, so it’s great to be able to change language for export labels.”

Future growth, scalable solutions

JK Thomson is expanding into own-branded products for e-commerce and retail suppliers, which requires retail packaging and labelling. Already familiar with the ease of AXIN Software, JK Thomson have recently integrated a new Marel weigh price labeler, the WPL 9000+. Specifically designed to automate retail product labeling the WPL reliably weighs, prices and applies labels to food retail packs. The flexible labeling options include barcodes, QR codes, weight data, clock-linked dates and product information, ensuring customers receive all the details they need to be confident in the product they purchase.