Canadian cod plant gets x-ray pinboning machine from Marel

Canadian firm Icewater Seafoods has contracted with processing equipment provider Marel to outfit its cod plant with a new CAD 1.6 million (USD 1.1 million, EUR 1.06 million) FleXicut machine, the companies announced on Tuesday, 7 May, during the first day of Seafood Expo Global 2019.

The purchase of Marel’s FleXicut system marks the final phase of a CAD 10 million (USD 7.4 million, EUR 6.6 million) investment Icewater Seafoods has made in its cod facility over multiple years, the company said. Edge heading, filleting, and skinning machines have all been added to the plant since 2018, as has a state-of-the-art ice management system. 

“Icewater is the only processor in North America dedicated full-time to Atlantic cod production and we’re committed to being among the best in the world,” said Alberto Wareham, the company’s president and CEO. “Icewater already has an unwavering commitment to quality, and this final piece of our CAD 10 million [USD 7.4 million, EUR 6.6 million] investment will ensure we remain competitive on cod with the best of Iceland and Norway.”

An automatic pinboning and portioning machine, the FleXicut uses X-ray vision to locate fish pinbones, which are then dispatched of with water-jets and filleted with knives into portions. The machine will help Icewater Seafoods to increase productivity and improve product handling as well as yield, the firm said. The state-of-the-art equipment – which provides intelligent product distribution, automatically allocating each different output to its appropriate product stream – is expected to be tested and installed during the 2019 season.   

“Icewater Seafoods and the Wareham family have a long history of taking advantage of the latest processing technology with Marel,” said Kristmann Kristmannsson, the area sales manager at Marel. “Close cooperation with key players in the processing technology sector has enabled the Warehams to adapt to changes, meet industry challenges and keep their operation competitive.”

The decision to partner with Marel was a natural one for Icewater, which was the first Canadian company to invest in the equipment provider’s waterproof scales back in the 1980s when founder Bruce Wareham first came into contact the machine developer’s work, the firm said. 

“At Icewater, we’re in the high-quality cod business and we’re in it for the long-term. That means investing in the right equipment. We have a long-standing relationship with Marel and they are experts in their field. The equipment lasts decades with incredible performance records,” Wareham (the late Bruce Wareham’s son) said. 

Marel is exhibiting at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium from 7 to 9 May in Hall 4, Stands #6227 and #6223.