Iceland''s Marel says it believes it can introduce full robotics into food processing factories and beat the competition from cheap labour in low-cost countries.
In a press statement it said "Increased automation is [the]Western food processors' answer to cheap labour in other regions of the world."
It said it was "breaking new ground in the development and manufacturing of high-technology solutions for the food industry. The company is working on full-automation technology that includes robots packing meat and seafood products without human hands getting involved. Marel has set itself the target to become a world leader in food-processing robotics".
Marel says it has an R&D workforce of 70 employees with university degrees and professional experience from all over the world and will spend approximately €10 million (IS Kroner 700-750 million) on product development this year. It has operations in 13 countries, agents in more than 50 and employs 870 staff, 340 in Iceland.
It said it is focusing on robots to handle food materials even when they are sensitive and vary in shape, and when processing is carried out in conditions where wetness and cleaning need particular attention. It says most applications today are for dry foods.
"Our work on robot-based solutions began last year, the aim being to design and develop a system that automatically places food in packaging," says Marel's CEO Hördur Arnarson. "It looks promising and we're now starting to develop these solutions for the fish and meat sectors. We're also developing specialised robots that will cut and trim fish fillets. These robots are designed and built from scratch here at Marel," he said.
The projects are being conducted partly in collaboration with the Technology Fund of the Icelandic Research Council and the Added Value for Seafood Fund. The work poses various technical challenges, such as the development of grip equipment, sensor technology, pre-cleaning processes and the design of total solutions suited to existing processes for fish on the one hand and meat and poultry on the other. "Robotisation in food processing is a realistic prospect in the next two to three years, as well as clearly being Western food processors' answer to cheap labour in other parts of the world," adds Arnarson. He says robots are set to take over monotonous and arduous tasks, while humans move on to more demanding and fulfilling work. Robots also offer more flexibility in processing, and are expected to cut response times for the manufacturing of new products, he said.
"This is a milestone for Marel," says Arnarson, "just like computer vision and weighing were previously. We aim to be the world leaders in food robotics, a field in which we can use all our technology and know-how acquired over decades of research and development."
Marel won the Outstanding Icelandic Processing --big company at the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition.
