23 Sep 2024

Dajin Poultry's remoteness is the key to success

6,000 bph Saudi greenfield is a dream come true for Khaled al Yousef

Khaled al Yousef had long wanted to build a poultry processing plant in Saudi Arabia. In 2024, his company Dajin Poultry realized a welldesigned greenfield with a capacity of 6,000 bph [100 bpm], complete with water treatment and rendering. The facility boasts a top-quality infrastructure both inside and out. Dajin Poultry chose only top suppliers. The company selected Marel for processing equipment and water treatment.

Dajin Poultry owner Khaled al Yousef talks about the start of the project, “I didn’t need to install the biggest processing plant, but it had to be top-notch. I knew Marel was not the cheapest option out here, but I simply wanted the top suppliers in the market. Although dealing with Marel sometimes needs extra effort, the beautiful machines they supply are absolutely amazing in their execution with great attention paid to detail. As an electrical engineer by profession, I really appreciate the execution, finish and connections of the equipment. Having seen numerous other processing plants in detail, I can truly tell the difference.”

The Dajin Poultry greenfield is in Al Ghat, which is a great strategic location to supply throughout Saudi Arabia. The 1.3 million sqm [321 acres] location is quite deserted and remote, but therefore also future-proof. With no people living for miles around, it will be no problem to process and extend here for the next 30 years.

Only the top

Dajin Poultry’s outstanding building is very spacious and can be extended. Khaled al Yousef comments, “I had no experience in the poultry industry, my expertise being in construction. This provided me with a solid foundation for successfully constructing our building. I must say, we did an excellent job, as we knew all the tricks of the trade. We were both supplier and customer at the same time.”

Old dream

What’s the reason for entrepreneurs in Saudi to enter the unknown poultry business? “For me, it was an old dream, because I have seen a friend doing this. Secondly, particularly after COVID, the government was offering substantial subsidies to help the district grow and make the country self-sufficient in poultry. So this was a perfect opportunity.

Customers

Dajin Poultry processes the typical Saudi small white chicken, which is around 1.35 kg [3 lbs]. Owning six broiler farms and renting four more, the goal is to process between 50 to 60,000 broilers per day. A big part of the production will be private label. Third parties will hand over their own chicken and packing material to have it processed at the Dajin factory. “We start by distributing locally to the surrounding villages and cities, such as Al Majma’ah. We will work with local supermarkets and retailers,” says Khaled al Yousef.

Automated and manual processes

Live bird supply is in crates. Dajin Poultry slaughters fully halal with no stunning. Giblets are harvested partly automatically and partly manually, because Khaled al Yousef has a quite clear opinion about where to automate and where not. “We reduce staff numbers where their tasks add no value. Rehanging, for example, has been automated with the TR-DE and TR-EC. And when an operation has to be automated, such as evisceration, I want machines that can be extended in the future.” That is why a Nuova eviscerator has been installed with the option to include automated viscera handling and increase capacity to 9,000 bph [150 bpm].

The execution and the beautiful machines Marel provides are absolutely amazing, with great attention to detail.

Khaled al Yousef
Owner Dajin Poultry

Air chilling

In Saudi Arabia, air chilling has been the standard for some time. Dajin Poultry, whose focus is on selling fresh product, features a Marel DownFlow+ 3-tier air chilling system. After chilling, products pass the QS-3 grading station, where they’re dropped into different grading bins, based on data received from Innova PDS. Whole products are then bagged. Some 10-15% of the daily production is cut up on the semi-automated cone-line into legs, wings, half fillets and mixed products.

Water treatment

The water supply is from a well on the property. As water is scarce in the area, it’s only logical to treat process water for re-use. Dajin chose Marel to build the wastewater treatment facility. The purified water coming from the multi-stage process is suitable for agricultural re-use. The plan is to use this water to irrigate the area around the building.

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