Automated salmon processing

In Zeebrugge, Belgium, Gastro Fish has opened a new 4000 m² production facility to process fish for European and international consumers.

“My goal from the very beginning, when I began discussing this project with Marel Food Systems about two years ago, was to have the most advanced and automated processing line available,” says Johan Van den Steen, Gastro Fish’s ambitious owner. “I wanted the top of the line, the best possible, with the highest quality.” And he got it.

The new state-of-the-art processing line was installed in September 2008. It spans the entire production process, from reception of raw material all the way through to finished and packed product. The sequence kicks off with the unloading of boxes of farmed Atlantic salmon and from there the fish proceeds through desliming, deheading, filleting, trimming, pinboning, skinning, washing, packing, icing and palletising. The one smooth, seamless and highly automated flow culminating in a customised packing system was developed jointly by Marel Food Systems and Gastro Fish.

Five-fold increase in productivity

Gastro Fish’s investment is paying off handsomely. With its sophisticated new line, the company has attracted many new customers and sales have gone up substantially. So has productivity. “The main benefit for us is that with the same number of employees we have been able to multiply the number of fillets we produce by five,” says Van den Steen. Processing was previously done manually.

What’s more, in December 2008, Gastro Fish had exceeded the expectations set at the beginning of the year by some 30%. “We were aiming for 25 tons of fillets per week by the end of the year and we are now at 35 tons. We’ve been able to do this because demand has been good but also because the finished product is ‘correct’, meaning that the quality is high and in accordance with customer demands.”

Automation and reduced manual handling of the raw material mean that processing time has been shortened, reducing the risk of bacterial contamination. The end result is a higher quality and more uniform product, with increased shelf life.

Flexibility provides competitive advantage

The line has provided Gastro Fish with much more flexibility in responding to customer demands. “The goal with the new line was to increase productivity per operator while simultaneously reducing production time to a few days per week, which we have achieved. This means that with the same number of operators we can now quickly increase the capacity when new customers come knocking,” Van den Steen explains.

He sees this as a big competitive advantage. “If you want me to produce 5000 kg of fillets for you with very short notice, I can say ‘yes’. If you do it manually, it’s impossible. Our flexibility is our biggest advantage. We never say ‘no’.”

This illustrates one of the biggest benefits of this line: it is a great tool for small or medium-sized producers looking to grow. Large producers are certainly not the only ones who can benefit from an advanced and automated system.

Putting traceability into the customers’ hands

Now that the processing line is up and running and delivering on its promise, the project is entering its second phase, centred on completing the installation of Innova. In addition to monitoring the line itself, Van den Steen plans to use Innova to manage stocks, for order making, labelling, temperature control, quality control and … you name it. “Our demands on Innova are really very high but I’m convinced we can do it.”

Crucially, Innova also ensures full traceability of every single box of finished product, all the way back to the farm that the fish came from, thus guaranteeing the highest standard of food safety. Van den Steen has an ambitious plan to make all this data readily available to his customers. “My goal is to put the whole traceability story online so that a customer who buys fish from me can go on the internet and find all the information there. He shouldn’t have to keep these records himself; we will do that for him.”

Marriage made in salmon heaven

Gastro Fish’s relationship with Marel Food Systems began in 2007. After having bought a Marel IPM3 portioning machine in June that year, Van den Steen was soon convinced he had found the right partner for the new project. Visits to a few other Marel customers - “just to get acquainted with how they relate to Marel and what their experience is” - gave him the confidence to proceed. “We started drawing up the plans in November 2007 and the contract was signed in February 2008.

“Our relationship with Marel Food Systems is like a marriage,” Van den Steen says. “It takes a lot of work to have a good marriage. But I’m convinced that I have chosen the right partner in Marel.”

A key factor in Van den Steen’s choice was the fact that Marel Food Systems had established itself as the leading one-stop shop for salmon processing worldwide, with the ability to meet any need that Gastro Fish might conceivably have.

“I didn’t consider any other alternatives than Marel because I wanted to have one supplier for all the machines and one point of contact - for sales, service and everything else. This was extremely important to me.”

Armed with his new state-of-the-art salmon processing line, Van den Steen is confident about the future. “Our goal is to keep on growing and developing. I am convinced that we can be the market leader in salmon processing,” he says in conclusion.

A fish shop blossoms

Established in 1989, Gastro Fish started out as a fish shop, as well as a supplier of fresh fish to bistros and brasseries. The business grew rapidly and in 2002, Van den Steen decided to expand into salmon. “Originally, we got involved in processing salmon for large smokeries to fill the gaps on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the days when there are no fish auctions in Belgium,” says Van den Steen. The new business was a success and the output grew from about 10,000 kg gross per week in the beginning to 25-30,000 kg by September 2008, when the new salmon processing line from Marel Food Systems was installed.