Icelandic company Valka had its patent-pending packing line on show at the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition and says combining its Valka RapidFeed in-feed control and dispersion machine with its new Valka RapidWeigher multi-head weigher results in significant savings in terms of reduced product waste and give-away.
"The packing line combines the speed and stability of the Valka RapidFeed with the precision of the new Valka RapidWeigher," says Valka founder and product development manager Helgi Hjalmarsson. "By doing so, I believe that it is capable of revolutionising the way in which fresh fillets are precision weighed and packed."
The company says a prototype RapidWeigher has been undergoing extensive testing at Reykjavik-based processor HB Grandi and results turned in high-quality handling of raw material coupled to a variation in portion weights of less than 30 grams.
Helgi says that, unlike conventional weighing equipment, the Valka RapidWeigher processes every piece of raw material, resulting in a high throughput rate and less product waste. The present version can handle up to 1500 kg/hour, and this could be almost doubled by adding more weighing bins and another infeed lane.
Grandi also tested the automatic portion control system and says it got considerable savings, by increasing overview and production control.
Product handling is also considerably improved, while the high level of automation provided by the system also results in reduced labour costs.
