VIV Europe 2022

Usually, the arrival of live birds at the processing plant involves a lot of paper forms and hand-written notes, allowing human errors to creep in. To get rid of this manual process, Marel has developed a software module. This flock intake software enables the automation of data gathering, with minimized human errors and streamlined production flow. The secret here is an RFID chip that can be attached to every tray and pallet of the ATLAS SmartStack transport module. The RFID chip connects all data from farm, flock, truck, driver, weight and process start. The software immediately links this data to the traceability and processing system. In this way, live bird handling becomes an integrated, digitalized process.

For many years now, Marel has been developing innovative techniques to make its automated solutions more and more intelligent. This not only means that our systems will support processors and their staff to make informed decisions; our solutions are becoming truly decisive and self-adjusting for optimal performance and less labor-dependency. In line with this, Marel’s new Nuova-i eviscerator, a major step towards an intelligent primary process. The Nuova-i allows for automated flock adjustments. These can be controlled by a touchscreen, allowing a switch to the perfect flock settings in a matter of seconds. Thanks to the internal machine software, Nuova-i can measure its own performance, allowing real-time insight into each unit. The remote monitoring, evaluation and improvement of performance and status illustrate Nuova-i’s connectivity. Even remote support is possible.

Marel makes unique connections to achieve real-time insight into the poultry processing plant’s productivity. In the primary process, IMPAQT software program enables machine-to-machine communication for seamless connectivity upstream and downstream. Every poultry processor knows that downtime costs money. Lost revenue, downgraded raw material, idle employee time – there’s always room for improvement. Downtime is, however, only one aspect for Marel’s IMPAQT software to give insight into the exact causes. IMPAQT is the perfect tool for a complete analysis and improvement of the availability, performance and quality trends of a primary poultry processing line. It reveals the exact reason for any production loss and identifies where to improve efficiency. IMPAQT not only identifies downtime, but can also help optimize the primary processes, while giving real-time insight to reach full potential.

On the one hand there are customer orders, e.g. four breast fillets in a fixed-weight tray or four schnitzels tray packed; on the other the input material, chicken breasts. How to best match them? Marel has brought together all the necessary hardware and software to ensure the best possible deboned breast meat order fulfillment. The new process sees the incoming raw material and determines which products need to be used for each order to achieve the best performance. Accordingly it sends every individual fillet to its best destination. The result is the most efficient breast meat process.

Today’s consumers expect their food to be of the highest quality. Food industry companies face a continuous challenge to prevent food contamination. In addition to the world-famous SensorX for bone and hard contaminants, In a joint partnership with Tomra, Marel developed an inspection system to detect soft foreign material. Such soft contaminants can pose possible risks to consumer health and cause significant damage both to the brand and the company. By minimizing these risks, Marel’s revolutionary Spectra imaging solution will give peace of mind. Hyperspectral imaging allows Spectra to perform a near 360° surface scan of poultry products. Despite its small footprint, Spectra excellently manages to detect plastic, rubber, wood and other types of soft contaminants. With a very low false-positive rate and minimizing rework, it is easy to incorporate Spectra into a production line.

Convenience food is more sought after than ever before. Food processors are challenged to offer greater flexibility to produce higher volumes of more diverse convenience food. This global demand stimulated Marel to develop its new high-throughput 1000mm Coating Line. The new 1000mm Active Flour Applicator, Active Batter Applicator, Active Tempura Applicator, RevoCrumb and RevoBreader feature wider belts and more robust, fail-safe designs. These systems lay the perfect foundation for a good-looking end product, thanks to an unrivaled even coverage of both the top and the bottom of the products. The high-quality coating abilities of Marel’s modular coating line are unequaled in the market, be it homestyle, tempura, coarse or breadcrumb. When combined with Marel Convenience Line Software, the Coating Line gives even more control over the coating process, to reduce off-spec products. The data-driven process depends less on operators and gives full insight into production. The new 1000mm Coating Line is the final link completing Marel’s full 1000mm Convenience Line. It connects perfectly with RevoPortioner 1000 and existing 1000mm fryers and ovens. Marel always has a state-of-the-art solution available for the production of burgers, schnitzels, chicken wings, nuggets, strips or popcorn.