Färjestaden, Sweden-based fish processing equipment maker SEAC AB has found strong demand for its pelagic-focused machines among Filipino canneries keen to downsize their labor forces and better handle smaller fish sizes.
In November 2020, SEAC sold eight of its heading-gutting and de-tailing FPM200 machines to buyers in the Philippines, according to Ulf Grönqvist, the founder of the firm, which was acquired earlier this year by Lübeck, Germany-based processing equipment firm Baader.
“We now have 38 such machines [in the Philippines] and probably 16 more will be delivered in [the] near future,” Grönqvist told SeafoodSource.
The Philippines’ three biggest canneries each purchased SEAC H&G+T (FPM-200) machines, Grönqvist said.
“As our machines are replacing a lot of manual labor, they will be needed in the future by all processors who want to decrease there number of people,” Grönqvist said.
The Philippines has historically been an important market for European fish-processing machines, Grönqvist said.
“Already when I started in this business during mid 1980s, they invested a lot of such machines from Europe, and when fish became smaller and smaller, they needed to change to new machines, and [bought ours] as our machines are so well-suited for smaller fish.”
The investments are mainly for the domestic Philippines market, but some of the canneries are now viewing export markets for their canned seafood, according to Grönqvist.
The firm also sold two FPM 800 Autolines to Vietnam for sardine processing in late 2020. In response to rising demand, especially from Asia, SEAC AB redeveloped and redesigned its existing filleting machines to clean worms and parasites inside the belly cavities of fish. After two years of tests in China, Russia, and Sweden, the firm is now selling a new line of machines - the BC Lines - specializing in belly-cleaning.
“This was special BC Lines for removing the worms and parasites inside the belly cavity. But due to the COVID-19 situation, both lines are not yet installed,” Grönqvist said.
Photo courtesy of SEAC AB
