FROM HANGING TO SEALED PACK IN JUST NINE MINUTES
In the fast-moving world of poultry processing, you’re only ever as good as your plant, and in many cases, your plant can only be as good as available space allows.
Finding the poultry solutions to deliver the results you need within a confined space can be tough, which was precisely the challenge facing chicken, turkey, and duck supplier, Faccenda Foods, at its Telford processing plant.
Space-savers
Until relatively recently, the plant, which weighs and packs chicken drumsticks, had been relying on a belt grading and packing system. While this system may have allowed each operator to handle 2.8kg of product per minute, Faccenda is a business which continually seeks ways to improve quality. With space at a premium, smart system design would need to be just as important as upgrading technology.
After giving Ishida the opportunity to assess their plant, it wasn’t long before a new Screwfeeder and Rotobatcher combination was installed right at the beating heart of Faccenda’s poultry line. Crucially, the Rotobatcher sits directly beneath the weigher, which makes the best possible use of space.
Better still, the clever layout of the leg and drumstick operation means operators can quickly switch between four possible batching combinations, depending on how the birds have been graded. In a world where time is money, efficiency really is king.
Speedy made easy
So what about the results? It may not come as a surprise to hear that giveaway was reduced by 30% almost overnight. Operators who could previously only handle 2.8kg of product per minute can now handle 3.5kg. As for changeovers from one combination to another, they can happen almost at the blink of an eye, and at the touch of a button.
The ￡35 million factory is now capable of processing up to 1.5 million whole birds per week, with the process from initial hanging all the way through to sealed pack taking just nine minutes. If that isn’t an example of how smart poultry plant design can pay dividends, I don’t know what is!
If you had any thoughts, please let me know in the comments below or by connecting with me. To find out how you can achieve similar results, download our new white paper, The Poultry Processing Blueprint.