World record nugget production on a 700 mm line

Banvit BRF is a Turkish feed and poultry producer, has highest awareness score as a poultry processor and is the most preferred poultry brand*. In the same industrial area in Bandırma, Banvit BRF also owns a convenience food plant. Some four years ago, Marel introduced its 700 mm Convenience Food Line. It takes in the entire process from meat preparation, through forming and coating, via frying and cooking to freezing and batching, and finishing with packing and labeling. All are fully compatible with Innova software. RevoPortioner, RevoCrumb, GoldFryer and ModularOven+ 700 are among the solutions which can be included in such a production line. In the years following its launch, Türkiye was a focus area for Marel, thanks to the experience and knowledge of Serkan Atay, managing director of Marel’s agent Feyzi, who made the right connections with the Turkish customers. Eventually, five 700 mm lines became operational in Türkiye.

700 or 1000 mm?

For many processors, it’s important to get the most out of a relatively narrow belt. A 700 mm belt has a number of advantages over one of 1000 mm. First of all, its footprint in the factory is smaller. With a 1000 belt, everything gets wider, the oven too. This has its impact on factory layout. A 1000 mm is also more expensive. If a processor only needs to produce 4,500 kilos [9,920 lb] and the investment in a 700 line is significantly lower, this becomes a decisive factor. With a 700 mm wide belt, quality control inspectors standing on one side of the belt can cover the entire width of the belt, whereas with a 1000 mm belt, operators have to stand on both sides of the belt to inspect product.

From 5,000 to 5,500

“Banvit BRF wanted their new Marel 700 mm Convenience Food Line to achieve maximum performance. We discussed with Banvit management the possibility of producing 5,000 kg on the line and in fact guaranteed this capacity, thereby outperforming our competition,” says Ronald Melskens, Product Specialists Manager of Marel RFS PF. “Once installed, we were testing the convenience line at Banvit BRF, and we hit 5,000 kg [11,023 lb] of nuggets per hour at a certain moment. Both Marel and Banvit BRF people were delighted at having achieved this. But then, seeing the line run so smoothly, local teams decided to upgrade it to a record capacity of 5,500 kg [12,125 lb]. There is no other line in the world that can run 5,500 kg on a 700 mm belt width. This is a genuine top-notch performance and nothing less than a real world record! Right at the start, we said we would need skilled people for what would turn out to be a kind of production Olympic Games. Banvit BRF surely delivered on their promise.”

Olympic Games

“It was a big plus that the Banvit BRF people were so experienced,” says Ivo Groenewegen, Sales Project Manager of Marel RFS PF. “That made things a lot easier. It was also good to see that Banvit BRF had well-educated technical staff for the installation. This was definitely what was required to compete in our highly demanding Olympic Games. We really needed these olympic players in the field. Banvit BRF really took things seriously and chose the people with the drive and capability of achieving this.

Daily production

Today of course, the Banvit BRF doesn’t continuously run the convenience line at 5,500 kg capacity all the time. At capacities sufficient to supply the customers, the line runs perfectly on a daily basis. Marel guarantees the line’s 5,000 kg capacity. Banvit BRF supplies the nuggets produced mainly to retail and supermarkets outlets, where products are on the shelf under their own brand name. In this way, they are bringing the regular bread crumb coated nuggets you can find in the QSR restaurants into the family home.

* Ipsos Türkiye Poultry Category Brand Health Research Study 2022

Company website: banvit.com