EuroTier confirms Marel's sustainable progress through intelligence

Every four years, the EuroTier exhibition hosts the World Poultry Show, which is the main reason for Marel Poultry's participation. The 2024 edition took place from November 12-15 at the Hannover Messe in Germany. It’s a major event—one of the largest animal farming exhibitions in Europe—with countless halls showcasing animal feed, farming suppliers, and even live animals. In Hall 23, the focus was on poultry and egg processing, starring the Marel stand. 

Visitors from nearly all European countries—and even from more distant regions like the Middle East—made the journey to Hannover to see for themselves what Marel had in store. Once they arrived, some stayed at the Marel booth for the entire day! This was partly due to the valuable insights shared by our extensive team of experts and partly to the irresistible food served, especially at our two exclusive chef’s tables, which encouraged many customers to spend significant time with Marel.

Artificial intelligence

Marel captivated visitors with a multitude of innovations, with the VC-i as the standout surprise, the brand new intelligent vent cutter powered by AI. Both in appearance and technology, the VC-i seamlessly complements the Nuova-i eviscerator, which was also showcased. The vent cutter's mechanical construction is completely revised for optimum performance, yield and hygiene. Besides that, the VC-i features PUPIL, a vision device that measures performance after undergoing a deep-learning process during installation. Thanks to this artificial intelligence, the VC-i can accurately identify well-extracted cloacas and ensure they are correctly positioned over the product’s back, maintaining consistently high performance.

Adaptive deboning

Another Marel highlight at EuroTier was the fully automated ATHENA breast cap deboning system. This adaptive system masters a wide range of weights and various chicken types, utilizing recipe control and the PMD product measuring device, followed by automatically adapting machine settings. With reduced labor dependency, ATHENA efficiently produces a diverse array of deboned end products, including whole and half fillets, tenderloins, and more, all at high capacity.

Cut-up launches

At EuroTier, Marel also launched the ALPINE anatomic leg processor. While keeping the legs in-line, this system performs precise anatomical cuts, and can meet specific customer specifications. Integrated sensors identify and prevent the presence of undesirable back pieces. The ALPINE is easy to control via the HMI touchscreen, which also provides monitoring functions, including tracking product losses.

A second cut-up module that debuted at EuroTier was the WingMaster, the anatomic mid-wing cutter. Once the wing enters the module, it is pushed into its optimal position and the WingMaster ‘feels’ automatically where the bone joint is located. WingMaster takes care of cutting consistently along anatomical lines, precisely at the right position of the joint, while harvesting the right amount of skin. The WingMaster self-adjusts to variations in weight or shape.

Hands-on

Alongside focal points like ProFlow Breast Meat software and advancements in duck and turkey processing, the impressive, half-circular immersive room attracted significant attention. Visitors could experience a virtual 3D tour through various parts of a processing plant, where primary and secondary processes were simulated. The impact of adjusting touchscreen settings was brought to life, offering a hands-on understanding of the processes.

Morten Dalqvist captivated many interested visitors by showcasing his favorite subject and expertise: portioning fillets for all kinds of QSR and retail products. Using the RoboOptimizer and I-Cut 122 TrimSort, he demonstrated, with real meat, the options of the line to produce chicken sandwiches, strips and cubes, highlighting its flexibility and precision.

Continue progress

Marel’s impressive stand, featuring fresh new design elements, left a lasting impact at EuroTier, showing plenty of attractive innovations that made the trip to Hannover highly worthwhile for poultry processing professionals. We thank all EuroTier visitors for their interest in Marel and let’s continue together our sustainable progress through intelligence!