Driving seafood processing innovation through digital and robotic technology

Copied directly from BIM: 

Irish seafood processors gained insights into harnessing the power of critical production data to help boost their efficiency and profitability at a BIM workshop at the Teagasc Ashtown Research Centre.

The event, ‘From Automation to Insight: Driving smarter decisions’, featured demonstrations of cutting-edge automation technologies, expert-led discussions, and real-world case studies highlighting the benefits of digital transformation across the supply chain.

“BIM is committed to supporting Irish seafood businesses to innovate through digital and robotic solutions which are already transforming their businesses,” said Pat O’Leary, Business Development Manager, BIM.

“This latest Seafood Innovation Network workshop provided practical advice on how seafood processors can unlock the power of valuable information from their equipment to achieve greater efficiencies and profitability.”

Seafood processors have made significant investments in their operations in recent years, supported by grant aid from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and the Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

“BIM is supporting seafood processors to apply the learnings from today’s event to help maximise their investment in technology and work with them to identify new areas for improvement,” said Mr O’Leary.

Technology available for filleting, portioning and packaging enables seafood processors to do more with raw materials and achieve production efficiencies, as well as providing insights into yield and measurement.

The workshop heard from Fergal Geraghty, Business Development Manager, and David Craven, Digital Transformational Lead, Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), who spoke about how IMR, in partnership with BIM, is helping the seafood industry with practical support to reduce waste, improve output and strengthen resilience, helping their businesses succeed.

BIM has partnered with IMR to find solutions to operational issues identified by Irish seafood processors. This has resulted in several projects with businesses using digitalsation, sustainable manufacturing, automation and robotics to overcome challenges.

Seafood processors also had an opportunity to see packaging and processing technology solutions during demonstrations aboard the Multivac Ireland roadshow truck.

Icelandic tech firm Wisefish, which provides end-to-end software solutions tailored to the seafood industry, spoke about how automation and data insights drive operational benefits.

Award-winning Irish health food business Absolute Nutrition shared how they have used digitalisation to create a thriving business based on a passion for nutritious snacks.

Through the Seafood Innovation Network, BIM is providing leadership and commercial insights to the sector to identify innovative ways to scale up their production, enter new markets and increase value added from raw materials.

This work programme is funded jointly funded by the Government of Ireland and the EU under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), which supports increasing industry knowledge and technology transfer across innovation, sustainability, fisheries conservation and competitiveness.