Salmon Processor Increases Production with Intralox DirectDrive Stacker

Customer Objectives

A salmon processor was looking to increase their production of frozen salmon while adding vacuum-sealed smaller salmon portions—a new, higher value product—to their product mix. The processor was experiencing challenges with their current batch freezing process that wouldn’t allow them to meet their goals.

After primary packaging, employees would manually remove salmon from the conveyor belts and place them in trays on moving racks—a total weight of 176 lb (80 kg)—before pushing the racks into a static freezer. Repeatedly opening and closing the freezer increased the time it took the product to freeze, caused unnecessary stress on the freezer coils, and created energy inefficiencies. In addition, one extra resource per shift was needed because of the high amount of manual product handling the freezing process required. These inefficiencies meant the processor couldn’t add the higher value product due to damage concerns related to manual handling or achieve flexibility in their process.

 Intralox Execution

The client contacted the OEM Food Process Solutions (FPS) to determine the best solution to their challenges. They had used Intralox modular plastic belting and ThermoDrive products before and were familiar with Intralox’s industry-leading remote assistance for belt and equipment diagnostics, health checks, and guided maintenance procedures. Due to this, FPS knew Intralox was the right partner for the project.

The Intralox solution was a DirectDrive Stacker spiral conveyor inside the freezer that was mounted outside of the plant, virtually eliminating space constraints inside the factory building. The DirectDrive Stacker was installed between primary and secondary packaging, allowing for continuous production from cutting to final packaging. With easy cleanability, optimal freezing efficiency, and economical total cost of ownership, the DirectDrive Stacker was the best choice to meet the processor’s needs.

Results

Since installation and with remote startup support and after-sales recommendations, the salmon processor has experienced many benefits. Throughput, flexibility, and energy efficiency have increased due to the ability to regulate the freezing process’s temperature and speed. Continuous production eliminated the need for manual handling, decreasing the amount of labor needed and damaged product. Increased capacity allowed the processor to activate a line that had not been running previously, and they’re now able to produce higher value products.

The processor has achieved a 33% throughput increase, predominantly attributed to vacuum-packed salmon, a higher value product. This enhancement not only signifies an improvement in quality but also allows for scaling up production capacity to meet future growth demands.