WORLD-CLASS ABATTOIRS

When Castlemaine Bacon Company and KR Darling Downs, two Australian producers of pork, merged to form KR Castlemaine Foods in 2003, the new company decided to expand the abattoir in Toowoomba, Queensland with a new deboning system. From a number of manufacturers of abattoir technology, KR Castlemaine Foods chose a system from the other side of the globe. From Carnitech in Denmark.

     “Denmark is known all over the world as an agricultural and food country of the highest standard,” says Thorkild Christensen, managing director of Carnitech A/S. “Den-mark’s unique branding as a food producing country has helped to give us as an associated industry some competencies which are noticed all around the world. Being the best in a given situation naturally also means something.”

Unique in the world
In less than 25 years, Carnitech A/S has become one of the leading manufacturers of processing equipment for food companies worldwide. It mainly involves processing of meat products, fish and shellfish and associated freezing facilities. Based on a comprehensive range of standard machinery, Carnitech has specialised in design and production of complete, customized process systems.

     “Since we are also part of Iceland’s Marel Group, which comprises a number of other highly specialised companies in weighing and packaging technology, we are able to draw on an expertise which makes our complete solutions unique in the world,” says Thorkild Christensen.

Quality demands
Developments in Carnitech’s industry follow a number of different trends associated with food producing companies. In relation to processing machinery for the meat industry, Carnitech is seeing increasing numbers of its customers setting up closer to their own customers. There is a relocation of the food industry to the new tiger economies in the Far East and Eastern Europe, where the growth of a new, relatively wealthy middle class is resulting in both increased food consumption and increasing quality demands.

     “Latin America and particularly Brazil will also be very large, future markets for both choppers, slicers and mixers,” says Christensen. “Not necessarily for very advanced robots, but more labour requiring machinery, provided the wages are competitive. But regardless of whether it is advanced or more traditional machinery we are supplying, they are modern designs, easy to clean and handle.”

Leading position in the US
Since 1988, Carnitech has been established on the North American market with its own company in Seattle, USA. In a relatively short time, Carnitech has positioned itself as the leading company in primarily seafood processing equipment, both regarding complete systems on board and ashore.

     “Our success, not least in the US, is very much because of the flat Danish company culture that encourages personal initiative,” says Thorkild Christensen. It is a culture suitable for adding value to our products. Our staff independently decide how to solve problems, they are industrious, and that means we are a lot faster than our competitors in getting things done. That’s why we are today one of the sector leaders on the North American market for processing fish and shellfish.”

http://www.carnitech.com

Picture box When the new deboning system was installed at KR Castlemaine in Toowoomba, it was important that meat production on the existing system was not interrupted. The new system was installed in just six weeks –three weeks for the deboning system and three weeks for a new packing room. Daily production has now risen by 35% – with the same number of staff. This is primarily due to the continuous production flow and rationalised, automated internal transport of the various products.