HB Grandi has signed a contract for a Valka X-ray Guided Cutting Machine, to be used for the company’s cod filleting line.
The contract was signed during the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels, where the machine was unveiled publicly for the first time.
The machine has been in use at HB Grandi’s Reykjavík factory since September last year and is used for removing the backbones from redfish fillets, as well as for automatic cutting of loins.
The new machine will be installed at the Akranes factory this summer, where it will be used to remove cod pinbones from fillets and to cut fillets into portions to the customer’s requirements. The company has decided to increase its cod production at its Akranes factory and the new technology is expected to result in increased productivity as well as better yields in producing portions.
HB Grandi and Valka are cooperating on a development project that is aimed at improving yields further still by implementing angled cutting in a project supported by the AVS Fund and the Icelandic Research Fund.
Awards
This year HB Grandi was awarded the President of Iceland’s Award for Export Achievement, while Valka was presented with the Icelandic Innovation Award 2013. The Icelandic Innovation Award is given by the Icelandic Centre for Research-Rannis, Promote Iceland, Innovation Center Iceland and The New Business Venture fund to a young and innovative company that has surpassed all others in the development of a product or service that is based on science and research and has been successful in the market.
Valka is committed to innovation, and a significant proportion of the company’s revenue is used for R&D.
“We find it a great honour to be awarded and the acknowledgment gives us an inspiration to continue on the same path. That is to create products that prove valuable for our current and coming customers”, said Helgi Hjálmarsson, CEO of Valka.
