Produits de la mer - n°181 - Avril 2018 - 52

News ❘ ZOOM ON... FLANDERS

Equipment made in Belgium
Belgian equipment
manufacturers such as
Marelec or Steen support
the processing of seafood
products in the kingdom
with their constantly
updated machines, which
are extremely successful
even beyond the borders
of Belgium.

ocated in the countryside between
Antwerp and the Dutch border,
Steen has been capitalizing on its
expertise in peeling processes since
1960. "We have long abandoned the trade
of meat in favour of seafood products and
poultry (60%)," points out Laurent Seesing,
international marketing director. "The most
expensive machines for processing fish
cost 30,000 euros, against 100,000 euros
for poultry as the capacities are not the
same. Regarding poultry, they can process
12,000 chickens per hour!"
An indicator of the quality and robustness of this equipment, the first standard
model of Steen, called XT111, is still produced in its premises. Which does not prevent the equipment manufacturer from
innovating. Over the past four years, the
company has been working on the problem
of de-boning and scaling. "Our machines
integrate the water supply, the speed set-

tings... The blade can be sharp or not and
we can even offer both with a simple and
fast switch." To guide customers in their
choice, Steen "tests its machines on different species. In Poland, specially designed
machines for plaice de-bone and remove
the sides of fish at the same time. As for
whitefish, we sell a lot of equipment for
sole in Canada and panga in Vietnam..."
Steen manufactures around 400 machines
a year, exclusively made in Belgium.
A distinctive feature which Marelec's
equipment can also claim. Another beautiful Belgian success story in the world of processing. A specialist in automated grading
and portioning machines, Marelec has just
doubled its production area in Nieuwpoort.
Since the time when they produced systems for measuring the tension of roller
gear for trawls and marine scales, Marelec
has worked its way up and even opened
up to other sectors such as meat, poultry
or vegetables. In total "we produce about
120 machines a year," sales manager Tom
Dewaele says. Fast, reliable, robust, precise,
they are present all over the the world, in
companies who process salmon, panga,
bass or sea bream. But the manufacturing of the equipment remains located in
Belgium.
Looking to the future, Marelec does not
skimp on R&D. Thirty of its 100 employees work in that field. After the Portio cutting machine with one or three cameras,
the one with two lanes, Marelec offers a
new system of "retractable" conveyor belts
which makes it possible to reject the head

The made
in Belgium label is
part of the success
encountered
by equipment
manufacturers
like Marelec
who doubled
his production area
in Nieuwpoort.

and tail of a fillet almost instantly in different bins, almost as a simultaneous operation with the portioning. A perfect innovation for salmon which permits the use of the
two parts of the fish differently but in parallel in the same movement. The machine
is coupled with Matrix, a production management system. This software allows the
manufacturers to work with different modules and to integrate the machines of other
equipment manufacturers.
Research also concerns a variety of species. "We are making headway into the
possibility of slicing steaks out of 2 kg
tuna blocks," the sales manager adds during a visit to new premises where we find
a grading machine which can smoothly
extract fragile products such as langoustines. "Our equipment results in such a high
production yield by means of drastically limiting the waste that return on investment is
fast." A key feature for success. ■

[Découpe de précision chez Pittman Seafoods]
À Zeebruges, la société familiale Pittman
Seafoods commercialise des découpes de
poisson et crustacés surgelés, en provenance
du monde entier, auprès des industriels des
plats préparés, de sociétés liées à la restauration hors foyer et de la grande distribution.
« Notre équipement de découpe sophistiqué
permet de proposer des cubes et tranches
de 3,5 à 400 grammes, à partir de blocs,
détaille Jessie Vanlanduyt, assistante commerciale. Avec cet outil, nous répondons à des

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PRODUITS DE LA MER N°181 AVRIL 2018

cahiers des charges très variés. Nous maîtrisons aujourd'hui parfaitement le process
et sommes en capacité d'augmenter nos
volumes, qui s'affichent déjà à 2 000 tonnes. »
Pittman a par ailleurs développé un partenariat avec les canadiens de Gourmet Chef
Packers pour commercialiser des homards
crus surgelés et s'est rapproché d'Omega
Seafood, un transformateur de saumon au
Chili. Enfin, elle propose désormais des sushis
surgelés à passer 2 minutes au micro-ondes.

Table des matières de la publication Produits de la mer - n°181 - Avril 2018