Marel and Loneg close the deal on a major greenfield beef project

This July, the Marel Meat LATAM team closed the deal on a greenfield beef project in Mexico. The Marel team will support Mexican company Loneg through the design, supply, and installation of their primary and secondary beef processing line. Installation is forecast to commence in early 2025 in Gómez Palacio (Durango) and, when operating, will have a processing capacity of 1,900 head of cattle per day. 

"This is a great achievement, celebrated by the regional teams, for the importance of the project and for Marel's positioning in Mexico and throughout Latin America," says Regional Sales Director Meat LATAM, Fernando Roos. 

Marel and Loneg worked together to develop a complete processing line, from the arrival of the live animal to end-product dispatch. Both primary and secondary lines will utilize advanced, fully integrated solutions to ensure Loneg is future-ready.

The new, multifaceted facility merges Marel and Sulmaq portfolios providing Loneg with an advanced processing facility that suits their specific needs. The full line will include primary processing, viscera processing (offal treatment), carcass transport and cooling, quartering, Kosher salting, a carcass spraying system, cutting and deboning, and primary and secondary packaging. 

In secondary processing, the StreamLine will be integral to the deboning and trimming system, providing optimal control and monitoring to maximize yields. Supported by Innova software, Loneg will have the flexibility to configure the system to meet customer-specific orders and improve production with real-time and historic monitoring and data collection of individual workstations.

The project will include innovations recently developed at Marel Guaporé, such as the 100% stainless steel air conveyance system, the Down Puller (a new hide removal system), the offal cooling by chiller, and the Rotate Clean 1000, among others.

Taking on the challenge of full-line processing  

As well-known cattle breeders, the Lopez Negrete family already supplies primary processors with approximately 1,000 head per day of high-quality animals under their other company, Ranchero Lucero. In 2019 the family saw the growing demand for export to the United States as an opportunity to expand their business profile and engage in both sides of the production line, rancher and processor. To make the move into primary processing a successful one, the family wanted a partnership that would complement their knowledge of cattle with expertise in processing solutions.

Loneg was looking for the best in the market. They quickly recognized Marel as a world leader who could meet their specific requirements of robust equipment with low maintenance needs and advanced technology and software to measure efficiency, productivity and performance. Reaching out to Marel's representative in Mexico, negotiations began in 2021, and with the support of the Marel LATAM team, in July 2023, the deal was finalized. The Marel team is looking forward to developing the new processing facility and their relationship with Loneg.

Loneg: in the business of growth

The Lopez Negrete family have owned Loneg and Ranchero Lucero for over 30 years, developing a high level of respect in Mexico and internationally. Lucero is a well-established cattle ranch with a production capacity of up to 400,000 head per year. The ranch supplies a wide variety of cattle breeds to renowned primary processing facilities within Mexico and runs a 41,000-strong dairy herd. The Ranchero Lucero dairy delivers its milk to the other branch of the family business, Loneg Dairy Products. 

Loneg Dairy Product has an advanced facility to separate milk into various dairy products for the national market and export to Europe, Asia and North America. Loneg is determined to transfer its guiding principles of quality, safety and sustainability to the new Loneg primary beef processing facility.