JBT Marel [NYSE: JBTM]
Turning Natural Variability into Processing Precision

A processing line works to fixed specifications with raw material that is anything but fixed. One salmon may differ noticeably from the next in weight and body geometry. A whitefish fillet presents another challenge, with pinbones occurring where an identical cutting path would either miss them or remove more usable flesh than necessary.

JBT Marel [NYSE: JBTM] addresses that variability by letting more processing decisions respond to the individual fish. Its technologies span primary processing and precision portioning, supported by inspection systems and production software that carry information through the line. Instead of relying on a fixed mechanical response, equipment can measure the product before deciding where the next cut should fall.

The principle is simple yet commercially significant. Greater yield is not necessarily a result of faster processing. It can come from understanding the raw material more precisely before changing it.

Cutting That Responds to Each Fish

Yield can be lost before filleting begins. A deheading cut that takes out too much usable material leaves less for every downstream operation, while an inconsistent cut can interrupt the handoff into automated filleting.

JBT Marel’s Salmon Deheader MS 3028 measures the cutting position from the eye of each fish rather than applying the same cut at a fixed point. Its knife arrangement is designed to accommodate salmon across a broad size range while producing a clean cut that prepares the fish properly for the next machine. The system operates at up to 22 fish per minute and can feed directly into JBT Marel’s MS 2730 or MS 2750 filleting machines.

That connection matters as much as the individual machine. The quality of one processing stage affects what the next receives. JBT Marel treats deheading and filleting as related yield decisions, reducing the likelihood that inconsistency early in the line has to be corrected through additional trimming later.

The MS 2750 carries the same logic deeper into processing. Designed for pre- and post-rigor salmon and trout from 1.5 to 10 kilograms, it measures each fish before adjusting the cut according to the selected trimming program. Automated infeed keeps product moving while dynamic knife positioning responds to differences between individual fish. Capacity reaches 25 fish per minute. The important point is not speed. Industrial automation is often involved in making a process more uniform, yet fish processing demands a certain degree of adaptation precisely because the raw material is not uniform. Measurement allows the machine to retain a repeatable process while changing where that process acts on each fish.

JBT Marel takes that approach across species and processing stages. Its whitefish portfolio covers onboard and land-based operations, moving from weighing and grading into primary processing, value-added production and final packing. The company also provides solutions for salmon and other seafood, allowing the underlying processing logic to be applied across different product characteristics without reducing the operation to one standard line.

See the Bone Before Making the Cut

Bone removal makes the relationship between inspection and yield particularly clear. Manual trimming can remove good flesh along with the unwanted material because the operator has limited information about where the bone actually sits.

SensorX Fish uses X-ray inspection to identify calcified bones in whitefish before further processing. JBT Marel states that the system commonly achieves a 99 percent detection rate on calcified bones down to 0.7 millimeters, with false positives at or below 3 percent. It can also identify hard contaminants such as metal and glass. Reducing false positives matters because rejected product does not need to be repeatedly searched for a problem that is not there.

FleXicut Jet moves from detection into action. X-ray technology examines the fillet from two angles and creates a detailed representation that guides automated waterjet cutting. Bones as small as 0.2 millimeters can be detected, while cutting software determines how to remove pinbones and trim the fillet without sacrificing unnecessary material. The system processes up to 50 fillets per minute and can direct the resulting cuts into different product streams.

Better yield, in this case, comes from knowing more precisely where not to cut.

Direct Each Fillet Toward Greater Value

Once unwanted material has been removed, the question changes from what should be discarded to what the remaining fillet should become.

JBT Marel’s I-Cut portioning systems use vision technology and programmable cutting patterns to produce fixed-weight or fixed-length portions. A processor can work backward from the product specification rather than simply divide a naturally shaped fillet into equal sections. The I-Cut 610, for example, uses a dual-lane configuration for higher-volume fish processing and applies software-controlled cutting patterns intended to improve raw-material utilization.

That flexibility becomes valuable when the same incoming fillet can serve different orders. Higher-value sections can be protected while other areas are directed towards portions suited to their geometry. FleXicut Jet follows a similar commercial logic by prioritizing valuable cuts and automatically routing outputs according to the selected processing program.

The result is more than dimensional consistency. Portioning becomes a product-allocation decision. Every cut influences how much of the original fish reaches a saleable specification and which specification creates the best use of that material.

Make Yield Visible Across the Line

Precise machines solve individual processing problems. Processors still need to know whether all those decisions are improving the factory as a whole.

JBT Marel connects equipment and production information through AXIN Software. The platform collects data across processing and provides visibility into measures such as yield and throughput, while traceability links product movement from source through finished output. Information can also feed external systems for costing and production planning.

Machine-level visibility adds another layer. The MS 2750 can connect with SmartBase to monitor technical condition and real-time performance, helping maintenance teams identify developing issues before they result in avoidable downtime. Production software for the filleting process can also compare actual performance against targets and show where results are changing.

The value of data becomes clearest when it returns to the processing decision. A manager can see whether yield has shifted after a program change or determine whether a particular stage is creating a giveaway. That feedback allows the line to be adjusted on evidence rather than assumptions.

JBT Marel’s recognition as a Top Fish and Seafood Processing Solutions Provider reflects this connection between the physical product and the information used to process it. Fish will remain naturally variable. The company’s technology does not attempt to eliminate that reality. It measures the raw material more closely, makes cuts around what it finds and uses production data to show whether those decisions are recovering the intended value.

Precision, in that model, is not merely the accuracy of a knife. It is the ability to make the right processing decision for the fish that is on the line.