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Automated Meat Harvesting Improves Carcass Yield Efficiency
Atlantic Beef Products installed JBT Marel processing equipment to optimize bone meat separation and cut logistics expenses.
marel.com
Application area: Meat harvesting and raw material recovery
Industry sector: Food processing and industrial meat production
Atlantic Beef Products, a federally inspected beef processor in Albany, Prince Edward Island, deployed JBT Marel's automated harvesting machinery to maximize yield from processed carcasses and optimize raw material utilization. The regional facility processes between 650 and 750 cattle per week for local agricultural producers, making yield optimization per carcass a primary operational objective.
Operational Challenges in Manual Bone Trimming
Conventional deboning lines leave significant quantities of edible lean tissue attached to skeletal structures. Prior to the installation, plant operators manually trimmed residual meat using handheld knives. This process proved labor-intensive, slow, and structurally inefficient on complex skeletal profiles such as neck bones, resulting in valuable protein remaining on discarded frames.
Pressure-Based Mechanical Separation Technology
To resolve these yield constraints, the facility commissioned the ProFIVE system, which utilizes controlled linear pressure cycles to mechanically separate residual muscle tissue from bone structures without compromising fiber integrity. A secondary processing phase applies higher pressure thresholds to the remaining skeletal material, generating a secondary raw material stream suitable for pet food formulations.
"The main reason that Atlantic Beef Products looked at buying the ProFIVE was that it was a way for us to extract more value from the carcass itself," explains Bruce Andrews, President and CEO of Atlantic Beef Products.
Operational Results and Logistics Optimization
The installation increased lean meat recovery from bones by 15% to 20% compared to manual knife trimming methods. Jay Willyard, Operations Manager at Atlantic Beef Products, confirms that the equipment extracts muscle fractions that manual labor could not effectively recover.
Beyond direct yield gains, on-site extraction reduced the overall volume and physical weight of residual bones sent to off-site rendering facilities in Quebec. This reduction directly decreased freight volume, road transport frequency, and overall haulage expenditures. The operational savings and incremental protein output aligned with the facility's projected 16-month capital payback schedule.
Edited by Natania Lyngdoh, Induportals editor, with AI assistance.
www.jbtmarel.com
Industry sector: Food processing and industrial meat production
Atlantic Beef Products, a federally inspected beef processor in Albany, Prince Edward Island, deployed JBT Marel's automated harvesting machinery to maximize yield from processed carcasses and optimize raw material utilization. The regional facility processes between 650 and 750 cattle per week for local agricultural producers, making yield optimization per carcass a primary operational objective.
Operational Challenges in Manual Bone Trimming
Conventional deboning lines leave significant quantities of edible lean tissue attached to skeletal structures. Prior to the installation, plant operators manually trimmed residual meat using handheld knives. This process proved labor-intensive, slow, and structurally inefficient on complex skeletal profiles such as neck bones, resulting in valuable protein remaining on discarded frames.
Pressure-Based Mechanical Separation Technology
To resolve these yield constraints, the facility commissioned the ProFIVE system, which utilizes controlled linear pressure cycles to mechanically separate residual muscle tissue from bone structures without compromising fiber integrity. A secondary processing phase applies higher pressure thresholds to the remaining skeletal material, generating a secondary raw material stream suitable for pet food formulations.
"The main reason that Atlantic Beef Products looked at buying the ProFIVE was that it was a way for us to extract more value from the carcass itself," explains Bruce Andrews, President and CEO of Atlantic Beef Products.
Operational Results and Logistics Optimization
The installation increased lean meat recovery from bones by 15% to 20% compared to manual knife trimming methods. Jay Willyard, Operations Manager at Atlantic Beef Products, confirms that the equipment extracts muscle fractions that manual labor could not effectively recover.
Beyond direct yield gains, on-site extraction reduced the overall volume and physical weight of residual bones sent to off-site rendering facilities in Quebec. This reduction directly decreased freight volume, road transport frequency, and overall haulage expenditures. The operational savings and incremental protein output aligned with the facility's projected 16-month capital payback schedule.
Edited by Natania Lyngdoh, Induportals editor, with AI assistance.
www.jbtmarel.com
