In co-operation with BIM, Icelandic processing equipment company Vélfag has delivered two processing lines to Irish seafood company Atlantis.
BIM and Vélfag began by discussing options for filleting for the Irish market, which differs from Vélfag’s home market in Iceland in that fish for processing in Ireland tend to be smaller and more delicate, and the outcome was that two machines would be required to cover the full size range.
Vélfag supplied its newest fully computer-controlled M705 filleting machine, which measures each incoming fish with laser accuracy and positions the cutting knives accordingly using servo motors. This allows for total control of knife movements (lift and timing) through the touchscreen and adjustments to bone guides, cutting speed, and stiffness off infeed guides.
It can switch between species at the touch of a button and can differentiate between fish at different stages of freshness.
These features enable the Vélfag machines to operate across a broader range of different species and increase yield, which was one of the key Atlantic requirements.
‘Since we had the concept ready, we dived into the process of adapting the machine to meet BIM’s criteria for the Irish market. In preparation, Atlantis first got the mechanical M700 for trials,’ Vélfag states.
Based on their experience and good results, they decided to invest in the advanced M705 filleting machine along with the M822 skinning machine and the M521 heading machine, which is designed to both head whole fish and take the collarbone off pre-headed fish (H&G). The M521 eliminates the danger of fillets jamming in the filleting process and subsequently jamming the fillets that follow behind.
Vélfag spent over a month working with Atlantis to adapt and perfect the M705 for their needs, ranging from 350g to 7kg fish hake, haddock, whiting, cod, and ling.
‘We can with confidence say that both parties are happy with the results,’ a spokesperson for Vélfag commented.
‘We would like to thank both BIM and Atlantis for the opportunity to build a machine that uniquely suited the Irish producers in performance and adaptability to their multiple species and sizes. This co-operation was very productive and bore fruit with our exclusive filleting process, which sets a new industry standard.’
