Frank Miranda, Managing Director of Bodum Engineering Solutions, Marel Poultry’s Sri Lankan agent for the last 20 years, says, “Our tailor-made solutions, suitable for all capacities, help processors get started with an initial capacity, which can then grow to higher capacities or more automation later on. This can be done without having to replace equipment; it is often easy to upgrade simply by adding modules. In this way, we can create customized solutions for every processor in Sri Lanka.”
Frank Miranda continues about Bodum’s long standing relationship with Marel Poultry, “It offers us the added advantage to this particular industry. Marel Poultry’s scope of supply enables us to provide a total processing solution. Moving forward with Marel Poultry, Bodum Engineering will continue to remain the industry leader in these solutions.
Water treatment
In Sri Lanka, poultry processors are highly aware of the need to re-use waste water. With environmental requirements in one hand and the scarcity of clean water in the other, waste water treatment is becoming ever more important. Being able to treat waste water so that it can be re-used rather than simply discharging it, is one way of promoting environmental sustainability. Marel Water Treatment is able to supply the right tailor-made solutions to Sri Lankan customers, at the same time reducing the water footprint of food processing.
Weehena - continues growth
Weehena Farms in Mahawewa is one of the longest standing customers of Marel Poultry in Sri Lanka. Initially, Weehena started industrial processing at 2,000 bph (33 bpm). Now the company is ready to expand to 4,000 bph (66 bpm). The entire plant is equipped with Marel Poultry solutions and has seen a recent expansion in the defeathering line, which involved adding Stork scalders and pluckers to the existing line.
Both gizzard processing and evisceration have recently been automated. To this effect, the Stork Nuova CoreTech has been installed. “Being a premier customer of Marel, we are pleased to continue our company’s growth with Marel Poultry and their agent Bodum Engineering,” says Mr N.S. Victor, Managing Director Weehena Farms.
Frank Miranda from Bodum adds, “Weehena is a leading poultry company in the country gradually growing to a sizable integrator. We have confidence that we will be able to expand further and our installed equipment will be ready to grow along with them. Nuova CoreTech in particular gives plenty of opportunities to do more. More units can be added to the carrousel, as well as a separate viscera pack line and, in due course, automatic giblet harvesting.”
New Anthoney’s - ready for the future
New Anthoney’s Group, based in Hanwella, is one of Sri Lanka’s leading poultry producers and a long-term loyal customer of Marel Poultry. New Anthoney’s has embarked on a major expansion program of its entire vertically integrated operation. The processing plant grew from 2,000 to 5,000 bph (33 to 83 bpm) to respond to growing customer demand, amongst whom are some major fast food chains.
The expansion included a new high-frequency water bath stunner and automation of the evisceration department with equipment such as the VOC vent opener/cutter and the Nuova eviscerator.
Emil Stanley, a veteran in poultry farming and broiler chicken production is New Anthoney’s managing director. He says, “Our ultra-modern Marel Poultry systems ensure that the health conscious Sri Lankan consumer gets nothing less than the best. Our company has come a long way incorporating state-of-the art technology with the highest expertise to supply quality meat products to the Sri Lankan market. Our strategic expansion, in close cooperation with Bodum, has enabled us to accommodate modern advances in poultry processing technology while adhering to internationally accepted environmental standards.”
Nelna - quality whole bird processing with a vision
Nelna may be best known for its mango production, but the core business of founder Mr W.G.E.G. Nanayakkara has always been the integrated poultry business, now well established in Sri Lanka. The company sells frozen poultry products such as sausages, whole chicken and family packs under the brand name Nelna.
In January 2018, Nelna Farms’ new greenfield poultry processing plant was commissioned in Meethirigala. With a capacity of 2,700 bph (45 bpm), the entire facility has been equipped with Marel Poultry solutions; from live bird handling and shackling to the Stork overhead conveyor, through the high-frequency stunner to a Stork scalder and pluckers. “At Nelna we are looking to increase our hourly throughputs to keep up with growing demand for our products. At the same time we are confident of improving our overall operating efficiency with Marel Poultry solutions and, most importantly, offer our customers even higher quality standards” says Sherman Gunatillake, Group Chief Executive Officer.
“We are proud to be graduating in 2018 to our first automated poultry processing solution for Nelna with Marel Poultry.” Nelna’s plant has been built for current and future processing needs. Upgrades in the form of further process automation and increases in capacity can be done simply by adding modules to the existing Marel Poultry configuration.