Mar 19

Copernus highlights its cutting-edge robotic machinery

One of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of chilled fish is highlighting the cutting-edge machinery responsible for helping supply over 52 million portions of seafood each year.

Hull-based Copernus acknowledges the difference the Marel FleXicut trimming robot makes to its processing capability all year round, which comes on the back of the UK celebrating National Science and Engineering Week.

The forward-thinking company is home to one of just a handful of these state-of-the-art water-jet cutting robots in the UK.

National Science and Engineering Week shines a spotlight each March on how science and engineering relates to our everyday lives. The use of X-ray technology and waterjets within the Marel FleXicut allows for high precision bone detection and removal, which ultimately ensures Copernus has even greater capacity for supplying both the UK and international retail markets.

Dean Simpson, Copernus’ managing director, says that whilst it doesn’t replace the highly specialist skills of his time-served team, the Marel FleXicut technology has undoubtedly supported with taking the company’s fixed weight processing capability to another level.

“The bones in whitefish are notoriously difficult to locate and remove, with the process traditionally requiring a high level of skilled labour,” Simpson said.

“The loin is very valuable, while the belly tends to end up in fish blocks. The pinbone lies in the highest value part of the fish. You need to cut very close to it in order to maintain as much high-value protein as possible.

“It’s a very skilled job for a human to carry out and we wanted to automate that.”

Watch this piece of marvellous machinery in action via the Copernus YouTube channel, which gives an insight into how Copernus processes fish from it arriving at the door to it being shipped out again.