"Smart solutions depend less on human decisions"

1. How is the global poultry processing industry currently developing?

“In terms of production, there is still growth globally. However, in terms of the number of companies, you see consolidation: more and more companies are expanding by acquiring other companies or by increasing their capacity through greenfields or higher line speeds. On the other hand, new major players are emerging, such as Sama Karbala in Iraq. Of course, industrial automation is developing in that part of the world, too.

2. How does Marel respond to this?

“With all the dynamics in broiler costs, it is important for our customers that processing costs are predictable and as low as possible, and that the added value created in a processing plant is maximized at all times. This focus on costs and efficiency goes hand in hand with higher capacities, less labor and multiple shifts. The strong trend towards achieving higher output from often existing infrastructure is happening at a time when fewer people seem to be willing to work in this industry.

In a processing plant, certain skills and experience of the staff are still essential for achieving optimal performance and efficiency. As Marel, we strive for a process that becomes more predictable and less dependent on people. It’s like a car engine: 40 years ago, you had to check the oil every week, but nowadays, only the garage opens the hood of your car and not more than once a year. The same is happening in the poultry industry: we are working towards reducing human involvement in the primary process, making everything more autonomous and predictable. Eventually, you could turn off the lights in the factory and everything would keep running smoothly, just like the engine of your car.

In the secondary process of a processing plant, we focus on creating maximum added value. Our customers need to match their products with the demands of their market. Flexibility is key here, as the end products can vary from day to day. Marel addresses this by offering intelligent automation and control. We support our customers in managing complex logistics efficiently, allowing them to maximize value with minimal waste. This requires more than just data collection; it involves digital assistance with a lot of flexibility. This way, we help our customers make better production management decisions with less stress.”

3. Is there a role for AI in the poultry process?

“The secondary process often still requires smart people to think about which products need to be created and which ‘production recipes’ are necessary to get the best results. This is quite challenging, given the high line speeds and the wide range of different products that our customers need to produce daily. Our new ProFlow software tells our customers how to best organize the process for today or the coming hour, considering the incoming raw materials and the products that need to be made. These smart algorithms help our customers make easy decisions in a complex environment. The software can even autonomously determine the optimal course of action for the process. In this way, ProFlow is indeed a first step in AI. We are adding intelligence to automation, reducing the need for human intelligence. These smart people can then move to processes and roles where automated intelligence is not available.”

4. How sustainable is the poultry processing industry?

“We are talking about food derived from animals. If animals are to be slaughtered for food production, we must ensure nothing is wasted and make full use of everything the animal provides. This carcass balance is perhaps one of the most important aspects of sustainability in our industry.

Furthermore, we aim to reduce water and energy usage per processed chicken with our solutions. Our AeroScalder, which uses moisturized air instead of water, saves considerable energy and water. Ten years ago, this technology was perhaps ahead of its time, but now, with water and energy becoming increasingly expensive, the demand for the AeroScalder is growing.

To effectively purify the water that is still needed, minimizing environmental impact, Marel’s Water Treatment offers the perfect water purification systems specifically designed for the meat processing industry.”

5. How animal-friendly is the process?

“With consumers becoming more aware of where their meat comes from, it is important for the poultry processing industry to be transparent. In addition, greater transparency often provides more opportunities to identify areas for process improvement.

When it comes to animal well-being, our ATLAS system, which transports live broilers from the farm to the processing plant, represents significant progress. The goal is to maintain the quality of the broilers that farmers have reared carefully, and this can only be achieved using the most humane animal handling methods possible. The ATLAS system facilitates the most favorable conditions for the broilers during loading, transport, and unloading, with the aim to prevent injuries, pain and stress.”

6. What characterizes Marel’s market leadership?

“It is a significant indicator that an increasing number of companies worldwide choose Marel for greenfield projects and expansions. We see this as confirmation that we are in tune with the market. By staying closely connected with our customers in a collaborative manner, we can continue to realize our vision: transforming the way poultry food is processed, so our customers can continuously and sustainably improve their business positions.”