Stable process flows: the basis for Vossko’s product variety

Plant manager Alfons Wittkamp talks about the various factors that led to integrating three Marel I-Cut 122 portioning systems and a Marel RevoCrumb breading system in the process.

I-Cut 122 TrimSort is Vossko's first choice

The trend towards ever heavier chicken weights results in larger chicken breast fillets. The end customer, however, is demanding smaller portion sizes. Frozen convenience manufacturer Vossko has also noticed this trend. Raw material weights now no longer match the requirements desired by the end consumer, which is why Vossko needed a solution to process a variety of fillet products in a flexible way. Fillets should be cut into different portions in one operation. Portion weights should be very stable, so that downstream processes such as breading can be under optimum control.

Excellent performance

Alfons Wittkamp explains, “From the raw fillet, we cut up to three products that should automatically be assigned to different production processes. For us, accuracy of the Marel I-Cut 122 TrimSort combined with the Marel SpeedSort was decisive. The performance of the TrimSort, especially on very small portions, is excellent. This gives us a reliable product for further processing. Two lines were installed at our Ostbevern site, and another line at the Santa Catarina site in Brazil. The systems were installed in 2021 and they are running perfectly and to our complete satisfaction.”

The entire portioning solution is connected to an overarching Innova software package, allowing Vossko to manage the desired portioning recipes from the control room.

RevoCrumb, a team decision

Breading of meat products is one of Vossko’s core activities. It is not without reason that the company was on the front row when Marel launched its new product range for wet and dry breading systems. “The high belt speed with improved breading is very convincing. The new RevoCrumb shows its advantages especially with coarse breadcrumbs. ‘Crushing’ of the breading is no longer an issue, compared to other breading systems on the market. Breading remains chunky, even after a long period of production, absolute added value compared to the RotoCrumb we had before.” After another intensive test with Vossko’s own poultry meat products, the Vossko team was able to take a unanimous decision. A few months later, the line including a Marel CrumbFeeder was installed. “The line is running perfectly. It was the right decision for Vossko.”

End products

Vossko specializes in manufacturing high-quality frozen convenience end products. The raw material consists mainly of whole-muscle meat, although meat formed in the Marel RevoPortioner is also handled.

With its focus on poultry, Vossko produces all conceivable products for the convenience sector. The company supplies a wide range of frozen products to the retail and foodservice markets, such as fillets, cordon bleus, steaks, mini schnitzel, medallions, nuggets, chicken wings and chicken breast strips.

Reliable and close

The first contacts between Vossko and Marel date from the early 2000s. In addition to I-Cuts, SpeedSorts, RevoPortioner, RevoCrumb and CrumbFeeder, Vossko also has weighing and sorting technology from Marel in its machine park.

When choosing a supplier​​, service is an important criterion for Vossko. “Service should not be neglected when making a purchase decision. The geographic proximity to the service locations in Osnabrück and Boxmeer is a strong argument. We are aware that sometimes we need fast and reliable service. If a machine supplier has just one service technician available for a region, then we cannot rely on that.

We need a well-established organization like Marel, with a local presence and a local service network. If a problem occurs, Marel can quickly have technicians and specialists on site,” reports Alfons Wittkamp, quoting his experience with Marel.

About Vossko

The Vossko headquarters in Ostbevern is around 20 km north-east of Münster. Bernhard and Maria Vosskötter founded the Vossko company here in 1982. The company’s constant growth over the last 40 years has led to a continuous expansion of the production and office buildings. With more than 700 employees, the Vosskötter family’s fast-growing company is the largest local employer. Vossko is a frozen convenience specialist for poultry, beef and pork, while vegetarian and vegan items are gaining in importance. Today, Vossko ships all over the world and is very well established in the European, North African, Canadian and Eastern markets. More than 15 years ago, Vossko built a plant in Lages, Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil. Today, Vossko employs more than 500 people there.

Company website: vossko.de