Canadian seafood company Icewater Seafoods has signed an agreement with Marel to purchase the $1.6 million FleXicut for its 6500 square metre cod production plant.
The investment is the final piece of a long-term, $10 million investment in the Icewater Seafoods facility. Since 2018, the company has added heading, filleting and skinning machines, as well as a sophisticated 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,’ explained President and CEO, Alberto Wareham.
‘Icewater already has an unwavering commitment to quality, and this final piece of our $10 million investment will ensure we remain competitive on cod with the best of Iceland and Norway.’
The FleXicut automatic pinboning and portioning machine uses X-ray vision to locate the pinbones, and cuts using water-jets and knives to remove bones and portion fillets. The automation of bone removal with the revolutionary machine raises productivity and greatly improves product handling and yield.
The FleXicut system at Icewater will also include intelligent product distribution. FleXisort automatically allocates each of the various outputs to different product streams, thereby saving time and further increasing efficiency.
‘Icewater Seafoods and the Wareham family have a long history of taking advantage of the latest processing technology with Marel. Close co-operation with key players in the processing technology sector has enabled the Warehams to adapt to changes, meet industry challenges and keep their operation competitive,’ said Marel area sales manager Kristmann Kristmannsson, commenting that the partnership with Marel was a natural fit for Icewater Seafoods.
This was the first Canadian company to invest in Marel waterproof scales when Icewater’s founder, the late Bruce Wareham (Alberto’s father), was impressed by the quality of the Marel equipment in the 1980s.
‘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,’ Alberto Wareham said.
The FleXicut system will be tested and installed at Icewater Seafoods during the 2019 season.
