Chinese poultry processor Shandong Yashixiang Meat Food Co., Ltd. has big plans for the future. Marel will supply two fully-automated processing lines with a production capacity of up to 15,000 bph [250 bpm]. It will be one of Marel’s largest projects in the Chinese market until now.
Shandong Yashixiang first contacted Marel in 2018. The company decided it was time to replace their mainly manual processing line and started to invest in a new factory in Zhanhua, Binzhou, Shandong Province. Marel will install a complete mix of poultry processing equipment including two evisceration and giblet harvesting lines, four ACM-NT cut-up lines, eight AMF-i breast cap deboning lines and four Thigh Fillet Systems. It will enable Yashixiang to handle 300,000 broilers per day.
From left to right: Manuel van ‘t Sant, Marel China Poultry Sales Director, Mr. Zhang Xu, General Manager of Yashixiang and Mr. Cao Qiangqiang, Vice General Manager of Yashixiang
With the benefits of automation in mind, Yashixiang was determined to set up a fully automated production line. “Our main objective is to improve production efficiency. At present, we are processing broilers manually. It takes 600 workers to process 90,000 broilers per day,” says Zhang Xu, General Manager of Shandong Yashixiang.
“With all Marel automated systems in place, we plan to process 300,000 broilers per day, employing 1500 people. This will increase the production efficiency of a single worker by more than 30%. The implications for the whole plant are of course obvious. Labor is also becoming more expensive with wages in China going up by about 10% every year. So automating our production lines will save us a lot of labor cost.”
Yashixiang’s second reason to go for full automation is the high level of standardization automated equipment can bring. Chinese consumers like their food to always look the same. This often has to do with traditional food preparation methods. Poultry products produced with Marel systems can meet strict standardization. The standard of food safety is also high, benefiting overall control and management of the enterprise.
The third reason has to do with Yashixiang’s future plans. “If our enterprise wants to develop, we must increase the overall level of automation. So it’s logical to start our new factory using only fully automated processing lines,” says Zhang Xu.
Yashixiang chose to cooperate with Marel after doing a comprehensive comparison. Marel stood out because of the excellent performance of its poultry processing lines and its good reputation in the industry. “We also noticed that Marel is continuously innovating in food processing. We are very interested in future developments in our area of activities. Another reason is good after-sales service. Marel came out top in all these aspects.” General manager Zhang Xu is full of confidence in the cooperation with Marel.
We noticed that Marel is continuously innovating in food processing.
Zhang Xu
General Manager of Yashixiang
Shandong Yashixiang Meat Food Co., Ltd. is located on the South Bank of Bohai Bay, the hinterland of the Yellow River Delta, Zhanhua County, Shandong Province. Zhanhua County is an area with low industrial pollution and a good ecological environment. Its environment and climate are very suitable for the growth of broilers and ducks.
Yashixiang integrates chicken and duck breeding, slaughtering and the production of further processed products. The company has 1500 employees and a sales revenue of more than 1 billion yuan.
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