Foodmate Delivers Successful Large-Scale Upgrade Project at Pilgrim's
Foodmate, partner of Dutch Poultry Centre, has successfully completed a large-scale upgrade project at Pilgrim's, one of the world's leading poultry producers. The project involved upgrading every Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner across the entire Pilgrim's organization with a Kneecap Remover (KCR), delivering measurable improvements in yield, labor efficiency, and workplace ergonomics.
About Pilgrim's
Pilgrim's is a worldwide leader in quality fresh, fully-cooked, ready-to-cook, and individually frozen chicken products enjoyed by millions of customers around the globe. With a strong focus on operational excellence and innovation, Pilgrim's continuously seeks solutions that help their facilities perform at the highest level.
A Well-Planned Rollout
Before the installations began, Foodmate visited each plant individually to identify and minimize potential issues. Once the planning was finalized, all installations were carried out over weekends to reduce production downtime to a minimum. The result: 18 KCR upgrades installed successfully across the organization, without disruption to daily operations.
Chris Knight, Director of Engineering Services at Pilgrim's Corporate, highlighted the impact: "With the installation of the KCR we have been able to reduce the number of trimmers and the amount of trim generated, thus increasing yield. The KCR is a great addition to a new OPTI Thigh Deboner or to an existing machine in the field. The investment is quickly justified for a quick ROI."
Technology That Delivers
The Foodmate OPTI Thigh Deboner is designed for consistent, high-yield thigh deboning in high-volume poultry processing environments. The Kneecap Remover is a modular upgrade that automates the removal of the kneecap after deboning. This reduces the number of manual trimmers needed at the trim table, decreases trim waste, improves overall yield, and lowers the risk of ergonomic injuries on the work floor.
For Pilgrim's, the benefits were clear on multiple levels: improved product quality, reduced labor costs, and fewer workman's compensation claims related to repetitive strain injuries.
A Partnership Built on Communication
The success of the project was also driven by strong collaboration between both teams. "The communication at multi-levels with Foodmate has been very interactive. We have had no issues during installations," added Chris Knight.
Do Burrows, VP of CaseReady Operations at Pilgrim's in Sanford, NC, USA, reflected on the experience: "The project with Foodmate was very successful, the best project I have been on in a long time. We have been able to provide one of our key customers the quality they expect."
Dutch Poultry Centre congratulates Foodmate on this impressive result and looks forward to seeing more innovations from this valued partner.
