I-Cut 130 PortionCutter: Solution for seafood processors

In the past years, seafood processors have faced serious shortage of labour force although they apply many measures to attract workers and posted widespread recruitment announcements. To solve the problem, DAI DAI THANH SEAFOODS has invested in buying the I-Cut 130 PortionCutter produced by Marel. With high-speed cutting (up to 1000 cuts per minute) and high precision, this machine can be substituted for one third of skilled workers.

According to Mr. Hang Quoc Dinh - Sales Manager of DAI DAI THANH SEAFOODS, before having  portion cutter, to meet orders, the company sometimes must increase 3-fold in wages for the workers to cut fish into portions from the fillets. However, the workers don’t like this work because it requires high precision, a lot of manipulation and labor intensiveness. With orders requiring the products of pangasius portion cut in gram, centimeters and steaks; workers must weigh each portion before and after cutting because they cannot calculate and quantify these portions by the naked eye. This leads to high error, low productivity, uneven and unsightly portion cuts. At the peak season, the company doesn’t dare to receive orders of more than 4 containers/month and orders with requirements on error at low level (from 20-25gr/portion).

Mr. Hang Quoc Dinh - Sales Manager of DAI DAI THANH SEAFOODS

After being introduced and testing the I-Cut 130 of Marel, DAI DAI THANH SEAFOODS decided to invest money to buy the device for its plants. This is considered as a solution for shortage of skilled labour that helps to raise the productivity and reduce the Payback Period.

Before that, with the product of 30-40gr/portion, when workers cut by hand, the error reflected by customers amounted to 70% in weight and the loss ratio was up to 20% that lessened the product’s competitiveness in price. After the plant was equipped with I-Cut 130, the problem on error was solved. With 100 finished pangasius portions, 100% of which fulfill requirements with high uniformity and high productivity when customers check at random. Recently, in addition to the product of straightly cut fillet, the company has developed further the product of pangasius fillet sliced with 45 degree cutting angle. With the equipment of I-Cut 130, the company has received good feedback from customers, particularly Japanese customers.

Japan accounted for 20-30% of the total production of pangasius portions of DAI DAI THANH SEAFOODS. This is a demanding market with strict requirements. Japanese people calculated diets in grams and specifically weigh components and nutritional percentage in each product to fit the elderly and children. That makes them demand a precise weight on each product. With the equipment of I-Cut 130, the company is confident to receive orders and receives positive feedback from the clients in both design and quality of the product.

In the past years, seafood processors including pangasius processors confronted with difficulties in attracting and scrambling workers. Currently, with solution for machines and technology replacing workers, the company reduces 20% of manual labour. In the coming time, it is certain that, the orders from abroad of DAI DAI THANH SEAFOODS will rise, Mr. Dinh affirmed.

Ms. Pham Thi Man – Technical Manager of DAI DAI THANH SEAFOODS commented that, a I-Cut 130 cutter of Marel can replace for 50-60 skilled workers. This is a good alternative for the final stage of production while the cutter is easy to operate and easy to clean. Especially, blade adjusts cutting angles and designed beyond the reach of human so it is safe for workers in the process of operation. Compared with other cutting machines, I-Cut 130  is an outstanding advantage in ensuring safety for workers during the cutting process. Just by some simple programming manipulations, I-Cut 130 can measure the void ratio of each pieces of raw pangasius to cut it into fixed-weight and fixed-length portions and steaks with low overtime pay. With low loss rate of 0.05%, the processing plant has saved huge costs and reduce the pressure on workers.

Written by Ta Ha

Compiled by Kim Thu