Key features of this production facility are as follows:
- High productivity, more than 500 tons of raw material per day. This plant is one of the largest facilities in Russia.
- Requirement to meet all HACCP specifications.
- Mixed composition of input salmon feedstock consisting of virtually all Far Eastern salmon species on some days of the salmon run season.
- Requirement to process white fish (pollock, flatfish, etc), with flatfish to be segregated into 7 gradations depending on species and size, headed and gutted; with pollock to be sorted by its size, headed, viscera extracted, roe and liver separated.
The process flow is organized such that each production area could support one operation and feedstock could proceed from one area to another only in one direction passing a dedicated control point. Feedstock flows at different process stages do not intercross. Feedstock logistics allow for its temporary accumulation at any process stage, duplication of flows and redundant capacity to be used in case of equipment failures or human errors. Buffer storage is also provided for process equipment items including empty and filled block molds and block liners.
Fish is supplied to the plant by a fish pump via a water separating hopper and a weighing hopper. Receiving hoppers are divided into two independent sections with 4 units each and intended for buffer storage of 400 tons of fish. Fish is chilled in these hoppers by liquid ice generated and distributed by a dedicated system. Feeding conveyors include pre-sorting work stations normally used for removal of garbage, by-catch and off-standard fish. The design of hoppers precludes partial jamming of feedstock, its crushing and mechanical damage due to accumulation of an excessively thick layer of fish, existence of “dead spots” and similar designing and manufacturing errors. Another specific feature of this hopper is that incoming and outgoing flows are independent and may proceed simultaneously. Each hopper can be loaded and discharged independently of other hoppers.
Fish from receiving hoppers is fed to the sorting area where it is manually sorted by species and size and where flatfish is selected and fed to a separate hopper. Sorted fish is directed to distribution hoppers and further to processing lines. Flatfish is sorted by species and size at dedicated work stations when it is fed to specialized flatfish head cutters.
There are four dressing areas in the factory. One is a multi-purpose dressing area where any fish can be manually dressed, its sac roe, milt (liver) and other viscera can be separated, its abdomen can be cleaned and washed. The area is equipped with a two-blade disk head cutter capable of heading any fish by a straight or oblique cut and an automatic two-blade head cutter intended for salmon head cutting by a U-shaped cut. Accordingly, any fish can be processed in this area both into headed and head-on-gutted products. Then fish is fed via a fish washing unit to an area for fish placing into molds, sac roe and milt is fed to another processing area for sorting, placing into molds and freezing, and waste and heads are sent via a crusher to an outdoor waste bin.
The area for flatfish additional sorting and dressing performs such operations as flatfish segregation by 7 size and species gradations, separate heading of each gradation by a V-shaped cut on a specialized automatic flatfish head cutter, further extraction of viscera and abdomen cleaning, washing in a special washing unit for flat-shaped fishes. Then flatfish proceeds to rotary placing tables where it is placed into block molds, sent for buffer storage in specialized rack and further for freezing. There are 20 work stations for placing into molds. Heads and viscera are sent via a crusher to a waste bin.
The pollock dressing area provides for buffer storage in hoppers of fish sorted by size to maintain its continuous flow, from here it is fed for dressing by IRF machines where it has its head cut and viscera extracted. Heads and viscera are sent via a crusher to a waste bin. Fish bodies are sent via a fish washing unit to the area for placing into molds.
The salmon dressing area incorporates 2 slot conveyors designed and serially produced by Technological Equipment Company. Slot conveyor is a multi-purpose conveyor-type machine capable of performing the following operations: head cutting by an automatic or semi-automatic head cutter (when producing HOG, fish proceeds via a tray conveyor in bypass of head cutter blades which are switched off); cutting open; separate extraction of roe, milt and other viscera; esophagus undercutting; kidney removal; inspection; and washing. Its capacity may reach 45 fish per minute on each side. Fish weighing within 2–2.5 kg can be processed on two sides and larger fish can be processed on one side only. The size group of fish that can be processed is 700 g to 8 kg. The bloody kidney is removed by hydraulic-powered vacuum spoons. Depending on raw material volume and processing technology specifics, 6 to 9 workers can operate on each side of the slot conveyor. Sac roe is fed by conveyors to another processing area for further processing, milt is sent to a separate table for placing into molds, heads and viscera are sent via a crusher to a waste bin. Fish bodies are sent to the area for placing into molds.
The area for fish placing into block molds performs such operations as fish placing into block molds and buffer storage of filled block molds in special accumulation racks before feeding to plate quick freezer. Fish moving pattern in this area is linear, with 20 work stations for fish placing into molds.
Filled block molds are frozen in the freezing area. Freezing in blocks is performed in 16 plate quick freezers. Filled block molds are fed to freezing cabinets by double chain conveyors. Similarly, frozen block molds discharged from quick freezers are fed by double chain conveyors for thawing, demolding and further glazing. Block molds are distributed between demolding work stations by a special switchover. Empty block molds are returned by a chain conveyor via a washing unit to the area of fish placing into mold blocks or flatfish placing area. There is buffer storage for 3,600 clean block molds. Frozen blocks are glazed by double submersion method, with an air treatment area equipped with a special fan between band glazing machines. Glazed blocks are packed in a liner and kraft bag. Packed products are put on pallets, each product type in a separate production area, and transported to warehouse.
All plant equipment, except quick freezers and IRF machines, was manufactured by Technological Equipment Company at its own manufacturing site in Vladivostok. Technological Equipment Company has been designing and manufacturing fishing processing plants and refrigerated warehouses, developing and introducing waste free technologies, designing and manufacturing modern high-tech serial equipment for fish processing for 19 years. During its lifetime, the company has implemented 50 major engineering projects in the Russian Far East achieving good practical results in recovery of Russia’s onshore and higher-level fish processing capacity.
