Annual report 2016
Marel Poultry generated €514 million in revenue with an adjusted EBIT of €85 million (16.6% of revenue) in 2016.
The poultry segment accounted for 52% of Marel’s pro forma revenue in 2016. Market conditions in poultry remained favorable throughout the year. Projects were well distributed geographically and between different product groups and sizes of orders, including some large projects in Hungary, France, Russia, China, Korea and the U.S.
A number of innovative solutions were introduced during the year including the revolutionary ATLAS live bird handling system, which was awarded the EuroTier 2016 Innovation Medal for setting a new industry standard.
Marel Poultry continued to increase its strong worldwide presence in 2016. Market conditions remained favorable throughout the year resulting in good projects around the globe. Several landmark orders were secured throughout the year. In Q4, a landmark order was signed with Harim in South Korea. The processing plant will potentially be the world's largest and Marel will install four new processing lines, implementing Marel’s latest technology in defeathering, evisceration and chilling. The lines all include low maintenance, self-calibrating high speed SmartWeighers that have proven performance and stability in more than 100 processing lines worldwide. Marel Poultry and the Harim Group know each other very well, as most of Harim's plants are already equipped with many Marel Poultry solutions.
Marel Poultry also secured two important orders in France in 2016. SBV Volailles, a part of the large LDC group, chose Marel Poultry to extend their Keranna plant in Bretagne. Another French company, Sofral, also ordered a large project. In the U.S., Marel Poultry signed a contract with Simply Essentials for a new greenfield factory. Marel will supply all the equipment and processing lines for this new project, designed to process 8,400 birds per hour.
In 2016, Marel Poultry exhibited its latest solutions at trade shows around the world, strengthening its relationships with customers and reaching new ones in all markets. In September, Marel Poultry took part in three exhibitions that ran simultaneously on three continents: CIMIE in China, Polagra Tech in Poland and AgrikExpo in Nigeria. At the EuroTier exhibition in Hannover, Marel Poultry launched five major innovations that received a lot of attention from customers, press and other professional visitors. At the EuroTier stand, Marel Poultry concluded an important agreement with U.K processor Maelor Foods to supply a new poultry processing plant with the capacity of 13,500 birds per hour.
Many innovative solutions were introduced to the market in 2016. The Stork ATLAS (Advanced Technology Live bird Arrival System) was launched. The innovative system achieves revolutionary impact, efficiency and hygiene, lifting animal-welfare to new heights which is unrivaled in the poultry processing industry.
The impressive carrousel modules of the Stork Thigh Fillet System, another global launch, also earned widespread acclaim in 2016. Thigh deboning has become completely industrial now, with no human intervention needed.
2016 marked a year in which Marel Poultry was very passionate about adding even more intelligence to the process. A fine example of this is the AMF-i intelligent breast cap filleting system. No more manual settings are needed, as all modules adjust themselves to the individually measured breast cap sizes.
Several solutions were also brought to market that help Marel’s customers gain better control over their secondary processing, creating better value and insight into yields while increasing food safety.
Marel has always focused on optimizing energy and water consumption in its solutions. This sustainable approach is illustrated by AeroScalder, which uses up to 75% less water and 50% less energy than competing solutions on the market.
In 2016, Marel introduced the revolutionary ATLAS live bird handling system which was awarded the EuroTier 2016 Innovation Medal. This outstanding innovative concept sets new industry standards and is designed to cope with future challenges.
