Is your fish grader working for or against your business?

Fish processors face pressure to deliver consistent quality while managing rising labor costs and tightening profit margins. For businesses looking to be competitive in the future, the shift to increased automation in processing lines is no longer a question of if, but how quickly you can implement solutions that deliver measurable results. 

Manual fish grading, once a stable backbone of operations, has become a significant bottleneck in today’s processing lines. Introducing automation into grading lines can remove this bottleneck, transforming yield optimization, quality control, and operational efficiency.

Calculating the true financial impact

Relying on manual weighing and grading puts strain on already tight margins, and limits growth in multiple ways. 

Manual grading:

• Relies on high numbers of staff, which can be challenging to find in today’s labor scarce market
• Fluctuating operation costs due to shifts in wages and demand
• Prone to inconsistencies in size and weight categorization, speed and throughput. Incorrect sizing leads to rework, consuming additional labor hours and affecting customer transactions and relationships through inaccurate orders
• Quality and hygiene risks come with manual handling and slower throughput, which can lead to temperature variations that compromise product quality. This results in the loss of valuable raw material, not just product giveaway but wasted energy and water resources.
• Creates compliance challenges when meeting EU requirements for common market standards, with inconsistencies and manual record keeping

Automated Grading:

• Grade every fish to exact specifications, ensuring accurate order fulfilment with minimal giveaway
• Specific data on each fish and batch is recorded and stored providing the documentation and consistency required to meet compliance with regulations
• Provides predictable operational costs that improve financial planning and margin protection
• Cleaning and food safety maximized and simplified with hygienic design
• Increased throughput speed and no bottlenecks, keeps production moving
• Improved product quality with less risk of damage caused by manual handling

Automation and tradition can go hand in hand

Transitioning from manual to automated grading represents a strategic shift which unlocks new levels of operational excellence, as well as an upgrade to equipment.  When Pacific TUM Cold Storage in Thailand introduced the Whole Fish Grader into their production line they saw immediate benefits. “After implementing Marel's grader, we have been able to reduce labor costs. In return, we have gained improved accuracy in fish size categorization and weight measurement.” Inthuon Phuttha, Customer Service Supervisor, Pacific TUM Cold Storage. In number this resulted in Pacific TUM being able to reduce the number of workers grading each incoming truck from ten to three. Rather than eliminating jobs, automation elevates them. By removing repetitive grading tasks, skilled workers can focus on higher value activities like quality assurance and process optimization, which improves job satisfaction and productivity.

Automated grading equipment offers accurate and fast grading of incoming product batches and has an immediate positive effect on an entire process line, regardless of existing automation levels, fish species or end product goals. Whatever combination of primary, secondary and value-added processing your facility has, accurate, efficient grading sets every operation up for consistent end-products.

EU common marketing standards of size, packaging, labelling, traceability and hygiene, make compliance requirements equal across Europe. However, each country has specific nuances. Processors in southern Europe with strong local markets face challenges with traditional customer perception of craft ‘by hand’ equals authentic. However, small steps like introducing automation into grading can open market opportunities by meeting standards and compliance with reliability without losing the perception of traditional quality that regional markets want. 

Maximizing the value of every fish

Each processor has a specific set of needs when it comes to grading. Whether fresh, frozen, whole fish or fillet grading will change the capability of the machine required. Species of fish and seasonal changes equate to weight and size variability. Supplier catch methods affect grading capacity needs. Business size dictates the quantity of fish received and dispatched. Market direction determines secondary and value-added processing needs.
 
With so many variables, it is clear that one grader does not suit all operations. This is where strategic equipment selection becomes crucial for maximizing return on investment.

A grading solution for every operation

JBT Marel offers a comprehensive range of graders designed to meet diverse business needs and fish sizes from 10 grams to 20 kilograms. All solutions provide crucial components including hygienic and robust design, seamless integration into production lines, flexibility to shift with product demand, and scalability to ensure your investment meets processing needs today and in the future. 

Smaller processors can find a simple step toward automation in the Compact Grader. This flexible all-in-one grading and batching solution provides the accuracy and flexibility that automation delivers in a compact, plug-and-play design perfect for small to mid-sized processors looking to modernize without major infrastructure changes.

Empowering growth

As cost and compliance pressures increase with increasing population, environmental challenges, and growing demand for seafood, processors need solutions that balance these pressures effectively. Grading is a critical stage in processing, with automation processors can maximize the value of every fish while meeting customer expectations and compliance requirements. 

As automation becomes more standard in fish processing, those that adopt the technology now position themselves to capture the full benefits of increased yield and operational efficiency that define success in today’s and tomorrow’s market. Grading is the logical place to start with a wide range of solutions offering various automation levels, sizes, and grading parameters to match needs. As well as solutions that can be installed with minimal disruption to production.

If you’re ready to explore how automated grading can transform your operations, JBT Marel graders are designed to meet processors where they are today while providing scalability needed for growth. Contact our team to discuss how the right grading solution can maximize the value of every fish.