Bakkafrost, EVi Salmon Gutting Machine, And US

Innovation in salmon processing doesn’t happen in isolation- it grows through collaboration, curiosity, and a shared drive to do things better. That’s exactly what brought Bakkafrost and JBT Marel together in the development of EVi, our next‑generation salmon gutting solution.

When Andrias Petersen, Group Harvest Director at Bakkafrost, heard JBT Marel were working on a new gutting machine, he reached out. After a few conversations, he recognised how the innovative concepts behind EVi could provide the flexibility in salmon gutting that Bakkafrost was looking for. Bakkafrost came onboard to test EVi in an operating facility.

Committed to providing healthy, quality salmon products to the global marketplace, Bakkafrost is constantly seeking innovations that help them become a world-class processor in the salmon industry.

What makes EVi different?
EVi stands for evisceration intelligence. EVi automatically and intelligently guts salmon in a way that enhances performance and quality for salmon processors.

“All gutting machines need to gut and clean the salmon well,” says Andrias Petersen, “EVi is a bit different compared to other gutting machines on the market. It is dual lane. With two lanes for gutting it gives us more time to gut and clean the fish properly, with no mechanical damage. We see that as a great advantage.”

The infeed system positions each fish with a stable and secure hold. By slowing the process and intoducing a compact, parallel flow, the dual lane system improves utilization and gutting quality, while meeting the industry need for faster, more consistent throughput.

Modern processing is becoming increasingly reliant on digital tools that capture data to provide operational visibility, performance insight, and ensure full traceabilty. EVi’s integrated software does just this, and can be seamlessly connected to up and downstream processes to enable full line control and insight. “That it can gut the fish well, and give us data related to performance operation, will create value for us,” says Andrias Petersen.

Addressing industry needs
From the start JBT Marel has been developing EVi with the aim of providing the industry with high throughput gutting and high quality results. A key factor to achieving this is the vision system, which scans each fish as it enters EVi to determine accurate size and profile. The gutting tools automatically adjust to process each fish to the highest standard.

AQi, an advanced propietary vision technology, also identifies any gutting defects, rerouting fish requiring further attention to the the correct location for further handling.

“EVi is designed in a way that gives each fish the time and precision it needs to deliver outstanding gutting results,” said Gunnhildur Ómarsdóttir, Product Manager, JBT Marel.

The increased automation of EVi reduces reliance on labor, allowing processors to reasign staff to other tasks, while maintaining reliable output and operations. “It runs for the most part without people. Which has an impact of production costs. But that is not the decisive factor for us. What’s crucial is that the operation performs as well as possible,” says Andrias Petersen.

Salmon gutting machines operate in a harsh environment and must be robust enough to process millions of fish across the lifespan of the machine. With each downtime costing money and risking valuable raw product, it was crucial for JBT Marel to ensure EVi was robustly made with safeguards that ensure at least 50% of capacity remains available, even in the rare event of a breakdown.

Collaboration is central to all good innovation
Salmon processors are faced with multiple industry challenges and an increasing demand for high-quality, sustainable products. Which is why, we believe it is crucial to collaborate with the industry we are working to support. “It’s incredibly important that input is coming from the industry itself, to make improvements to the process,” says Andrias Petersen, “We’ve experienced that collaborating with JBT Marel. They’ve listened to our thoughts, ideas, and wishes, and the experience we have in production is taken into account.”

When EVi was ready for industry testing Bakkafrost began working with our developers. This crucial step ensured EVi could meet the demands of everyday operations in a salmon processing line.