CUSTOMER
Pilgrim’s ® / JBS
OPTI THIGH DEBONER
WITH KNEECAP SEPARATOR (KCS)
FOODMATE EQUIPMENT
Eighteen (18) OPTI Thigh Deboners with Kneecap Separator (KCS)
will receive the upgrade
SCOPE / FOODMATE STRATEGY
Now existing and new customers can achieve an even
The scope of this project was to upgrade every Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner
faster Return on Investment with the recently developed
with a Kneecap Separator (KCS) within the Pilgrims organization. Before
installation of the KCS’s, each plant was visited to minimize or eradicate any
Kneecap Separator (KCS). Since the official introduction
potential issues during the install. Once the teams were comfortable with back-
of the OPTI Thigh Deboner in 2011, Foodmate has
end planning, it was decided to installation of the KCS units take place over the
successfully installed over 200 machines worldwide.
weekend, minimizing downtime.
Customers in the US, Canada, Korea, Australia, France,
OBJECTIVE
Poland, Turkey, Russia, Brazil and several other countries
To reduce staff ing at the trim table and improve yields by reducing over
are profiting from significant yield improvements and
trimming. Many plants that operate the Foodmate OPTI thigh deboners require
labor savings as well as seeing improved thigh meat
on average 6-8 trimmers to remove the cartilage (kneecap) left on the meat after
quality and increased shelf life. deboning and (depending on the trim spec) remove excess fat and potential
100 THIGHS PER MINUTE trimming which can create signif icant yield losses.
bone. One of the inherent problems caused by this manual process is over
trimmers they hoped to improve workers' health through reduction of highly
repetitive motions.
OPTIMAL YIELDS. DELIVERED. WORLDWIDE.
RESULTS
“With the installation of the KCS we have been able to reduce the number of
100 THIGHS PER MINUTE
trimmers and the amount of trim generated, thus increasing yield. The KCS is
a great addition to a new OPTI Thigh Deboner or to an existing machine in the
The KCS unit can be installed on existing machines or it can be f ield. The investment is quickly justif ied for a quick ROI”, stated Chris Knight,
has been developed to address problems commonly found in both integrated into a new machine; it is located underneath the meat Director of Engineering Services, Pilgrim’s Corporate.
manual and automated thigh deboning operations. The innovative scrapers and is cam and gear operated. Each meat scraper has a “The project is still in progress, and communication at multi-levels with
scraper design and tendon cutting system give the meat a hand-cut circular blade that comes from underneath the thigh bone to cut the Foodmate has been very interactive. We have had no issues during installations;
appearance without shattering the bones. Adding the automated tendons around the knee joint. After the tendons are cut, the meat so far f ive plants are completed including Cold Springs. Although it is still a work
KCS does not impact meat quality and yields are very similar or scraper pulls the meat off the bone, leaving the kneecap attached in progress, to date, 5 of the 18 KCS upgrades have been installed successfully
better than with manually trim. to the bone and we look forward to the remaining installations”, added Chris.
The Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner with Kneecap Separator (KCS)
trimmers and to improve yields. Also, by reducing the number of manual
By upgrading every machine Pilgrim’s expected to reduce the number of
9 9 Eliminates bone shattering
9 9 High yields when operated correctly
9 9 Output speed of 6,000 pieces per hour
9 9 Requires only 15 blades for kneecap separator
9 9 Integrated kneecap separator to minimize trimming
9 9 Simple and accessible design allows for easy maintenance
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Chris Knight, Director of Engineering
Services, Pilgrim’s Corporate.
9 9 Integrated deskinner
9 9 Provides hand cut meat appearance with oyster attached
PAGE
“With the installation of the KCS we
have been able to reduce the number
of trimmers and the amount of trim
generated, thus increasing yield. The
KCS is a great addition to a new OPTI
Thigh Deboner or to an existing ma-
chine in the field. The investment is
quickly justified for a quick ROI.”
9 9 Safety features such as integrated safety PLCS and DC injection brakes
Final Product
High yield, hand cut appearance
without shattering the bones.
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