POLAND

Limito S.A.: Core competence is salmon products

Boneless steaks, salmon loins and convenience products In September 2012 Limito opened a new fish processing plant in Grudziadz (approximately 100 km south of Danzig). It stands out not only for its high level of automation during production which is definitely state-of-the-art, but also for its unusually short construction time: from the laying of the foundation stone to the start of production it took only nine months.

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t took six months for the matching and coordination of all the individual machines and to ensure they were all communicating as desired with the central computer which is responsible for the control of all production processes and data capture. Innova is the name of the integrated software solution chosen for this purpose. It is supplied by Marel. It actively controls and monitors every step in the production process – from incoming raw materials to dispatch of the finished products. Because all relevant production information is recorded traceability is guaranteed for every single product. Wrosz is convinced that electronic management systems of such complexity are still rare in production facilities today. The system stores and manages all data centrally so that they can be called up at the press of a button to give information on product and inventory stocks, capacity utilisation of individual machines, material yield, or free capacities, etc.. Given the numerous advantages that Innova offers, people are happy to wait a little longer for such a system. But the visit to the production halls soon revealed that Limito has not only invested in an intelligent management system. We saw salmon filleters and portioners from Marel, Geba 250 slicers for slicing smoked salmon sides (Wrosz: “In our company smoked salmon really is sliced fresh without

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Eurofish Magazine 1 / 2014

any light freezing”) and heavy-duty packaging machines such as the R535, R245 and T700 from Multivac – in the 6,800 m2 company a lot of the machinery and equipment is at the forefront of fish processing developments. Quality standards such as ISO and BRC, HACCP, IFS or Kosher conformity which the company has already fulfilled are an indication of the very high production level. Despite the latest technology it is not, of course, possible to get by without any staff at all in Grudzia˛dz. Nearly 250 people are employed at Limito. During peak periods, at Easter or towards the end of the year, about 100 additional temporary workers are employed. Up to 10,000 t of ready products, fresh or frozen, smoked or otherwise processed, can be processed annually. About three quarters of production is frozen, the remainder is supplied fresh, mostly in modified atmosphere packaging. The company’s own brands are ‘Limito’ for the premium market and ‘Seafood4You’ for the economy segment. The two brands currently only account for about one quarter of total production, however, and the majority of products are traded under private labels. Limito wants to substantially increase the share of its premium brand (which is described in the company brochure as

Export Manager Krzysztof Wrosz. About 90% of Limito’s current product range is based on fresh salmon from Norwegian aquaculture.

standing for “uniqueness, quality and health”) in the coming years. They are also striving to strengthen the brand and company image by offering attractive products and perhaps even by setting new trends for nutrition. Salmon from Norwegian aquaculture forms the basis of the product range and accounts for about 90 of production. “We offer more or less everything that can be produced from fresh salmon”, promises Export Manager Krzysztof Wrosz.

Poland is the third largest market for salmon from Norway Following Morpol and Suempol, Limito has become one of the major salmon processors in

Poland. With annual imports of nearly 140,000 t in 2012 Poland was the third biggest buyer of Norwegian salmon after France and Russia. Although a large proportion of the salmon is just processed in Poland and then re-exported, demand for salmon is growing on the domestic market, too. According to statistics, the average Polish consumer eats a good 1.2 kg of salmon per year. Poland differs from other markets, however, in that a large share of this quantity is eaten in the home. Whereas in Western Europe people sooner tend to eat fish in restaurants Polish people will often prepare it themselves in their own homes. Limito is targeting these consumers with its products, says Krzysztof Wrosz. “We are not only www.eurofishmagazine.com