The company has called on Marel Poultry’s experience and know-how to replace its existing evisceration line with a new advanced system capable of 10,000 bph [166 bpm]. This has significantly improved both processing efficiency and end product quality.
The acquisition of a Marel Multihead Weigher for fresh products in 2014 marked the beginning of the partnership between Bello Alimentos and Marel Poultry. “With the purchase of this equipment, we focused on meeting a specific European market demand for fixed-weight breast fillets,” says Lauri Francisco Paludo, president of Bello Alimentos, a business unit that manages the Frango Bello processing plant. Currently, about 60% of Frango Bello's production is exported with the main destinations being Europe, China, Chile, the Middle East and Japan. Remaining product is sold to small retailers, food services, and local butchers.
HEAVIER BROILERS
Since 2014 the Company has grown and expanded its range of products. This dictated a revamp of the Itaquirai premises. “Bello Alimentos had been increasing its market presence. The way we were set up in 2014 did not allow us to produce more,” remembers Paludo. Having expanded production, the time seemed right for new investment. In particular, the company was looking for an evisceration process which would handle heavier birds. “Today we process medium-sized birds with an average weight of 3.250 g. While visiting plants in the United States and Europe processing similar weights, we were able to see how well Marel Poultry’s equipment dealt with them.” says the president. “We really liked what we saw there; top performance and top quality.”
FINE-TUNING
“From the initial project layout to signing of the contract, it was good to know that there was a perfect cooperation between Marel Poultry’s commercial and project teams concerning replacement of the old equipment and deadlines for start-up of the new line,” says Lauri Paludo. The new evisceration line consists of a VC-16 vent cutter, a VO-20 RS opening machine and a Nuova eviscerator with automated viscera pack transfer as well as two veterinary stations. Giblet harvesting is done manually. “We worked together with Marel Poultry’s technical team to prepare, in detail, for replacement of our old equipment with the new evisceration line. In the end we completed all changes well ahead of our deadline,” says Martielo Correa de Oliveira, general manager of the Frango Bello unit.
NO CONTAMINATION
For Frango Bello, Nuova has really hit the nail on the head. Once the line was running, one benefit quickly spotted by the production team was a reduction in product contamination after evisceration. “Marel Poultry technology opens products extremely accurately and efficiently removes and transfers the viscera pack. This eliminates most of the risk,” says Rodrigo Belasques, general manager of operations at Frango Bello.
Another important project advantage was a reduction in labor at the inspection stations. “Our old evisceration line required 16 people for the Critical Control Point analysis line. Now that we are using Marel Poultry technology, we have been able to considerably reduce the number of employees needed,” concludes Belasques.
AMBITIOUS
Frango Bello’s plans are ambitious. “With the increase in poultry processing expected next year, Frango Bello will then be one of the largest producers in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul,” concludes Lauri Francisco Paludo.
ABOUT BELLO ALIMENTOS
Bello Alimentos was founded in 2006 in the city of Itaquiraí, in Mato Grosso do Sul and is one of the business units within the Pluma Group, a company that has been operating in the Brazilian poultry industry for more than 12 years.
Frango Bello processes 140,000 birds per day and bases its production on the use of new technologies, employee training and continuous improvement of its physical structure and production processes. Bello Alimentos is certified for export to Europe, China, Chile, the Middle East, and Asia and is committed to offering high-quality products, in line with the requirements of the markets in which it operates.