Harim Group is modernizing its poultry processing plant in Iksan, South Korea, adding four new lines.
The company is partnering with Marel Poultry for the project, in which the four new lines will be spread over five floors, according to a press release from Marel, which has already installed systems in Harim Group’s plants in Korea and Allen Harim facilities in the United States.
“We have great confidence in Marel Poultry and their people,” Harim Chairman Hong-Kuk Kim stated. “We highly appreciate the cooperation and it’s always a pleasure working with them.”
One of the largest plants in Asia
The complete reconstruction of the Iksan factory involves an extension to six, and later to seven, processing lines. When the four new high-speed lines are installed, the Iksan facility will be one of the largest poultry processing facilities in Asia.
A unique feature of the plant will be the visitor's center, including a 1,640-foot long windowed corridor which offers a complete view of the production process in the factory.
"We like to show how our operations succeed in producing good quality and healthy chicken meat with a strong focus on hygiene, food safety and good working conditions.," said Kim.
Latest technologies
The four new Marel Poultry processing lines will make use of the latest technologies in scalding, defeathering, evisceration and chilling. Stork Nuova, will be at the heart of the evisceration department. All four lines will include low maintenance, self-calibrating high speed SmartWeighers and advanced equipment monitoring.
Conveying to new heights
In Korea, little land is available for building, as 75 percent of the country is covered by mountains. Harim solved this problem by designing a five-story building, attached to the existing plant, extending its existing 861,111-square-foot production area to 1,614,586 square feet. Spacious air chill tunnels, which use proven Stork DownFlow "Plus" technology, will be positioned on the top floor. A Stork overhead conveyor system distributes broilers to all departments, keeping all processes completely inline. In Harim's Iksan plant, this conveyor bridges a height difference of more than 65 feet.
