DENMARK
Kroma makes gutting and filleting machines
Move to bigger factory reduces turnaround time Kroma, a specialist manufacturer of processing machinery for the fish industry located in Skive, has just moved to newer and bigger premises. Business has picked up over the last years to the satisfaction of its owner, Ivan Kristensen, after a slow period. The new space will help reduce the turnaround time to build and ship machinery.
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roma is best known for its gutting and filleting machines, which have a reputation in the industry for their reliability and efficiency. Our machines have been following the gradual trend in the industry to produce bigger fish, says Mr Kristensen. A decade ago most of the machines we were selling were for 200-300 g fish, while now we sell machines for 400-600 g fish and even bigger, because while it costs the same to process a fish whether it is 300 g or 600 g, the latter has more meat on it to pay for the investment.
Single machine for multiple species The range of gutting machines that Kroma has developed enables it to supply processors of a variety of fish species and sizes. Forty years ago when we started, we were producing mainly for the trout industry, says Mr Kristensen, but today Kroma’s machines are used to gut seabass and seabream, mackerel, catfish, tuna, salmon, hake, and soon, perhaps barramundi too. For the last couple of years interest in Kroma’s machines has been on the rise. Before the crisis in 2008 almost a third of the company’s business had been subcontracts for sheet metal work for local manufacturers because it www.eurofishmagazine.com
One of the company’s most experience employees assembles a machine.
had the necessary machinery and expertise. During the crisis these contracts dried up as companies began doing the work themselves rather than outsourcing it. Now however, the company has managed to return to its pre-crisis turnover, but this time it is purely from the sale of fish processing machinery. Building more machines made it necessary to invest in more space as the demands on inventory grew. At 3,300 sq m the new factory has three times more space than the old place so there is ample space to have the parts that are needed to build a machine on hand. Of course, the idea is not to have a huge inventory, but to sell equipment, but a larger workshop allows us to fulfil orders more effectively, says Ivan Kristensen.
While the company does all the design, assembly, and testing in-house, many of the components in the machines are sourced from outside. Vacuum pumps, machine parts and other pieces are bought from suppliers mainly in Europe. We keep an eye on prices, but as we do not buy in bulk they tend to be similar wherever we buy the parts, says Mr Kristensen. More interesting for us is if a supplier can offer improved quality or faster delivery.
Machines adapted in close coordination with customer Adapting a machine to different species calls for close
coordination between the customer and the company. The customer has to define the shape of the fish that is being processed and measure different parameters such as the length, weight, and thickness and give the data to Kroma. Based on this information engineers calculate certain ratios and use this to adjust the different knives in the machine. The prototype is then tested using samples of fish from the customer and final adjustments are made. Crucial to our ability to customise a machine for a client is the experience we have built up over the last forty years, says Mr Kristensen. The current portfolio of gutting machines spans those that will gut 0.5 to 0.75 kg
Eurofish Magazine 5 / 2013
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