In 2022, KER Group were awarded the contract to supply a complete fish processing package for Killybegs Seafoods pelagic fish processing factory.

• Design & manufacture 9 infeed fish hoppers
• Extend existing distribution conveyors
• Design & manufacture of new elevated fillet conveyors
• Supply & install of additional processing equipment (carton erectors, lid applicators, strapping machines)
• Design & manufacture of new control cabinet with PLC
• Installation of new LED lighting and general service outlets
• Design & manufacture all walkways, handrails and stairs

All works were carried out in Killybegs, Co. Donegal. 

“Our plan for the factory was to restructure the layout of the plant and to streamline the operations which would ultimately ensure high quality of our end product. The work that KER conducted was professional and to an exceptional standard. They delivered exactly what we and the business required. The newly installed equipment has performed efficiently and seamlessly during a very busy fishing season. We are very pleased to have gone with KER and we are very satisfied with the excellent work they produced. We highly recommend them to potential factories looking for a complete fish processing package.”

John McGuinness, Managing Director, Killybegs Seafoods

In 2022, KER Group were awarded the contract design a dewatering trailer for a fish processing factory. Design and manufacture of individual components such as the conveyor system, water separator and return water tank was completed in KER by our team and the whole project was completed in house.

In 2022, KER Group were awarded the contract to design, supply and install salmon processing equipment to this factory.

Overview

• Design/manufacture/install 2 x conveyor belts to transport salmon for gutting.
• Design/manufacture/install 2 x flighted conveyor belts to transport to ice dosing machine.
• Supplied hopper to ice dosing machine complete with hopper

Project Description

Before the project was conducted, ice had been manually shovelled onto the salmon. This lead to a lot of ice falling on the floor which missed its intended target. There was a large amount of waste ice which lead to a slippery & hazardous workspace for staff. By adding the ice dosing machine, a predetermined quantity of ice was placed into each polystyrene box of salmon. This ensured that each box received a better quality of ice and a correct quantity each time, reducing spillage, waste and inconsistencies in volume put into each box.

The addition of the conveyor belts ensured that the salmon was guided directly & it prevented the operator from overstretching & lifting the salmon into the filleting machines. This project made the operation much more efficient, reducing waste ice, improving safety & delivering a fresh & high-quality end product.

In 2021, KER Group were awarded the contract to provide a fish processing package for Ardglass Sea Products LTD – S&P Milligan.

• Design/manufacture/install 2 x fish processing lines
• Design/manufacture/install 3 x 7.5m straight conveyor belts
• Design/manufacture/install 2 x fish hoppers
• Supplied 2 x Marel SpeedBatchers
• Full electrical installation
• Full pneumatic installation
• Commissioning/testing of all equipment

In 2020, KER received the contract to complete a first of its kind “Mobile Weighing System” for Pelagic Weighing Systems.

Overview

• 1 x Infeed Fish Hopper – Total Capacity 8m³ of fish and 4m³ of chilled water
• 2 x Speed controlled Conveyers feeding the Flow Scales with 6 x Fans (per conveyor line) for dewatering the fish
• 2 x Flow-Scales 600mm wide belt
• 2 x inclined Conveyors
• 1 x 6,800 x 700mm wide Bi-directional conveyor for discharging fish into tankers
• 1 x clean in place (CIP) system for washing
• 2 X pumps fit at the bottom of conveyor. 1. is for pumping water back to the boat. 2. is fitted with a flow meter and controlled by PLC for pumping into tankers.

Project Description

KER Group, commissioned the first of its kind “Weighing Platform” for Pelagic Weighing Systems. This Mobile Weighing Platform is used to weigh at point of landing in Killybegs, whilst ensuring the quality of the fish. The weighing platform, uses an 8m³ infeed hopper and conveys the fish up and across two weigh scales supplied by “Marel”. These scales are the same specification as already installed in the fish processing facilities in Ireland.

The fish travel forward onto a bi-directional conveyor that can feed the fish left or right into the tankers ready to transport to the processing factories. The “Weighing Platform” is completely self-sufficient, central control PLC system controls the speed of the conveyors, hopper and Marel’s.

A return water system can return the water to the tanker or the fishing vessel and is fully automated. Its own silenced generator provides power for everything to run continuously. The unit was designed with health and safety at the fore, and the ease of use and cleaning are paramount. The system was designed and built within 17 weeks, all works from design layout to programming were carried out by KER Group.

In 2016, KER were awarded the contract for the main contract build of this new factory for Bio Marine Ingredients Ltd.

Overview:

• Installation of process equipment.
• Installation of electrical works.
• Installation and welding of all pipework to the process equipment and all other factory needs (pressure washer system, fire hose, sinks, eye wash points).
• Installation and fine tuning of wastewater treatment plant.

Process Equipment: 

• Over 90 pieces of equipment installed
• The process installation was separated into 4 areas: Intake area, wet process area, evaporator area & miller drier room.
• Intake area: Conveyor belt, mincer & mixing tank
• Wet process area: 1st floor: 9 x plate heat exchangers, 28 x pumps, 14 x stainless steel tanks with the largest 6m in height. 2nd floor: 4 x plate heat exchangers, 2 decanters, 3 x separators, 2 x flow heat exchangers & 1 pump.
• Evaporator area: A 9m evaporator, 2 x filter skids (membrane filtration & nano filtration) , 6 x pumps & a vacuum pump
• Miller drier room: 2 x filtration tanks, a bone hopper (which extracts bones from fish liquidized mixture), an ultra rotor (turns liquid into powder which uses a gas boiler as a heat source) and a ventilator.

Electrical: 

• New light system controlled by a PLC.
• Supply to process equipment, wastewater treatment plant and office areas including canteen, board room and changing rooms.

Pipework:

• Total contract included 2.7km of stainless steel piping & 1400 purged welds, all supported and bracketed to prevent vibration.
• Mild steel & plastic pipework also completed by our team.
• Majority of the S/S pipework was completed in the wet process area, evaporator area and in the main headers on the pipe bridge.

Wastewater Treatment Plant:

• Large tank 30m³ installed and sealed fully.
• Scraper installed to filter the incoming waste water to prevent solids entering the main tank.
• A Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) which takes solids out of the water was installed and calibrated. It was calibrated to ensure the PH Level of 7 before the cleaned water was sent to County Council Water Treatment Plant.
• Dosing Pumps were installed to regulate the PH of the Wastewater.

In 2018, KER Group were awarded the contract for the full mechanical and electrical installation of this fish processing factory for Arctic Fish.

• Mechanical installation of fish processing equipment
• Reconfiguring of existing equipment
• Installation of all the lighting & general services
• Supply & installation of high tension electrical equipment & switch gear
• Supply & installation of new power factor panels
• Supply of Conveyor Belts
• Design, manufacture & installation of Stainless Steel handrails, walkways & stairs