“Less speed, but better products” is the motto of Steinfeld GFS, setting the company apart in the market. With a line capacity of 7,500 bph [125 bpm], end products offer outstanding quality and flexibility. A customer can call in the morning, order small quantities, and have them delivered according to their requirements in the afternoon. Steinfeld Managing Director (Production) Detlef Bornhorst and Managing Director (Finance) Michael Kamps share more about the Steinfeld concept.
The broilers processed by Steinfeld come from a maximum of 80- 100 kilometers from the processing plant. While Germany allows broilers to be transported over longer distances of two hours or more and this is common practice, Steinfeld pays special attention to animal well-being and regional sourcing. Steinfeld’s customers are from the same area: local markets, some retail, intermediaries, and specialized wholesalers. All have strict requirements as regards quality, regional origin, and transparency.
90% of the products at Steinfeld are deboned, while 10% are sold as whole birds. Breast caps run through the Marel AMF-i filleting system for deboning. Fillets then pass through recently installed SensorX and SmartLine Grader systems.
“25% of our production involves processing chicken for other companies, such as organic products for Biofino. Biofino is the market leader in organic poultry, with whom we are connected in business. We receive the animals, process them and deliver the end products, which are then packaged by Biofino,” explains Detlef Bornhorst. “The challenge is that these organic animals can be very different. We have specialized in processing them well. This results in daily changes to our production line. In the morning, we process the organic chicken first, followed by our own free-range chicken. Naturally, this requires adjustments to both machines and software. In Germany, a 100% separation between organic and conventional broilers must be guaranteed. That is why many changes need to be made through our whole production area. We therefore have a 15-minute gap to ensure complete separation.”
Detlef Bornhorst further explains: “We can switch flexibly between organic and conventional broilers, as our new Marel Nuova system in the evisceration process allows us to make just the right adjustments in small steps. Even with different chicken batches, we can still perform to a high standard. When processes changes, the evisceration phase is crucial. Our Nuova system can be adjusted so easily, that these minor modifications have a significant beneficial impact.
For the future, we are firmly convinced of delivering the best quality to customers as flexibly as possible and according to their preferences.
Detlef Bornhorst
Steinfeld Managing Director (Production)
“In the beginning, we processed and harvested giblets manually. The process involved a lot of mistakes. That is why we turned to Marel. Our primary goal was to automate giblet harvesting and increase giblet yields to over 90%. Now with Marel, we achieve 97%.” The entire evisceration department has now been fully automated by Marel, including Nuova, all preparation and finishing systems, giblet harvesting machines, SmartWeigher, and Marel PDS software. “Increased yield and labor savings were a decisive factor in the switch from manual to automatic giblet harvesting. We were able to reduce staff from 10 to 4,” explains CFO Michael Kamps.
“The Nuova evisceration solution has strengthened our position in the market, as with this system we can offer higher quality and more diverse products. Previously, without the option of harvesting giblets, we had no presence in the market at all. Not just for pet food but also at the crucial weekly market, giblets such as liver and hearts are in high demand today.”
For three years now there has been a close relationship between Steinfeld and Marel. „Thanks to good co-operation and advice, installation, support and aftercare were all delivered as promised. We have good experience with Marel service, although we have rarely had to call on Marel for help with our evisceration department. When we did need support, contact with the service department was short. We rang up, sent a photo and got service quickly. This is not the usual way of asking for service, but Marel understands how to support us quickly and flexibly in emergencies“, says Managing Director Claus Auer.
Poultry specialist Steinfeld and its brand Polly are widely known for their quality and flexibility. “Flexibility is our core business. A customer can call us in the morning, tell us what they need, and we then produce it on the same day. It’s almost impossible to be more flexible.”
Company website: polly-steinfeld.de
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