With the return of Australia’s largest food manufacturing industry event foodpro after a six-year hiatus, Food & Drink Business profiles foodpro’s advisory committee exhibitors.
This week we speak to Marel, full-line supplier of innovative solutions, food processing equipment services and software for the food industry.
Marel to showcase portion cutting production line at foodpro on the heels of acquiring new German company E+V
An innovative portion cutting production line will be the centrepiece of leading exhibitor Marel’s stand at this year’s foodpro event. Regional Sales Manager Oceania for Meat, Andrew Voke, described the line as an integrated solution for portion cutting and autoloading of portions into trays for packaging.
“With many of our customers diversifying their businesses to include value added solutions, this kind of technology is continuing to gain more momentum,” he said. “Also, for those already in this space, automating this type of process is the next step for their businesses as well.”
Meanwhile, the innovation powerhouse continues to invest in and acquire new companies with their latest acquisition being the German company E+V.
“E+V specialises in vision systems and grading technology,” said Voke. “This will add another string to Marel’s bow in the primary processing sector for beef, lamb and pork.”
From Iceland to breakthroughs in technology
From its ground-breaking weighing technology and its commitment to R&D (investing 7 per cent of its revenues), Marel prides itself on providing market leading solutions which cover off the entire production supply chain. From slaughter to further processing and everything in between, Marel is now a full line supplier. “Our hardware solutions coupled with our comprehensive and expanding software solutions really do put Marel in a unique position,” said Voke.
Marel traces its origins to a project at the University of Iceland which began in 1977 and led to a group of engineers founding the company in 1983. Marel quickly made its mark in the fish processing industry with the development of motion-compensating onboard scales.
This breakthrough in weighing technology was the first of many Marel innovations in food processing equipment, software and service. Marel has since expanded its expertise to the poultry and meat processing industries, with innovations now spanning the whole food processing value chain.
“Our mission in all the industries in which we operate is to work in partnership with our customers to transform the way food is processed,” said Voke. “In addition to a high annual investment in innovation, our long-term acquisition strategy is one of the keys to achieving this goal.
“Marel is involved with all of the major food brands globally. In saying this though, we are also supplying the up and comers and the innovators in the food processing space, we have solutions from small to large customers.”
Looking to the future - automation will continue to be in high demand
With labour availability challenging all sectors of the food processing industry globally and locally Voke believes that locally automation will continue to be in high demand. “Marel continue to make inroads on this issue, and it will always be a key focus moving forward. With an expanding global population placing pressure on resources, the industry needs to be processing in a sustainable way as well.
“At Marel our key philosophies revolve around maximising the return of the raw material available. A perfect example of this is the success of the Sensor X Accuro for beef processors in the Oceania market.”
In export markets Voke said Oceania is in a unique position with a reputation built on quality and safe food products. “Maintaining this is key to be able to demand the premiums our customers demand and deserve. Maintaining traceability and the integrity of this traceability underpins the brands that get shipped offshore. Marel has market leading products to ensure this for our customers.”
Key challenges and the need to be flexible
The key trends Voke now foresees in the processing industry is the appetite for automation. “What makes this a challenge for a machinery supplier is that our customers need to maintain a high amount of flexibility to process as well. Just recently we were successful with a project that reduced headcount and delivered a big improvement on giveaways. It is not a fully automated solution, however the combination of the machine and people to achieve better results is a big step in the right direction.”
Another common trend over the last few years observed has been the move from traditional primary processing customers further down the value chain. “This illustrates to Marel that we need to be supporting these customers as they take this journey with machinery and processes, they may not be so familiar with. Clearly, the opportunities to extract more value from the same raw material is a mandate across the industry.”
A long and trusted history for making connections
With their upcoming showcase at foodpro 2023, connecting with all valued customers in one place at one time will be super important for Marel. “Also connecting with new prospects looking for new ideas is exciting,” said Voke.
“Promoting our new equipment and passing on new information is why we choose the foodpro event in Oceania. It has a long, trusted history and is well known amongst the food industry in the region. Of course, securing new deals would be the cherry on top. We’re looking forward to a successful show.”
