High Liner Foods, 2013 Frozen Foods Processor of the Year
Find out whats in store for this $1.15 billion seafood processor, who continues to grow through company acquisitions, new product developments and advanced sustainable sourcing methods.
Read full article here.
Read plant story here.
blocks of frozen fish on conveyor
Fish comes in 16.5-pound frozen blocks that pass through a series of saws to be sliced into stick shapes.
Linehan Photography
Batter Line
Frozen fish sticks convey under a batter fall that coats the sticks with a pre-mixed refrigerated batter for flavor and adhesion.
Frozen Fish Fillets
Fish fillets are glazed with ice to prevent dehydration.
Frozen Fish Fillets entering water
After receiving an ice glaze, fish fillets run under a 120 °F hot water bath to remove the ice glaze.
Frozen Fish Fillets leaving freezer
Frozen fish sticks travel under a JBT FoodTech breading machine that coats the sticks with bread crumbs.
Fish Filets on Conveyor
Fish fillets are seasoned with a series of batter and breading, enter a large fryer for 20-30 seconds to set the coating and then travel into a spiral blast freezer at -35°F.
Seasoned fish filets on scale
Frozen fish fillets convey into a Heat and Control vibratory rotary scale before exiting downward into one of the eight packaging lines.
Frozen fish fillets being sorted
At the time of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods visit, High Liner Foods was processing frozen fish fillets in excess of 6,000 pounds an hour on one line.
Packaging boxes
One of High Liner Foods initiatives for 2014 is to optimize both its carton and pallet cube to assure efficient use of storage, tractor trailers and distribution centers.
Fish filets in boxes
All eight packaging lines encompass quality control checks that collect data and monitor weight, specs, foreign materials, etc.
Sea Cuisine Applewood Salmon
To ensure responsible packaging, High Liner Foods instituted the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a forest certification standard.
shrimp foodservice plate
High Liner Foods credits its ability to scale as one of its biggest strategic advantages over competing seafood processors.
Group Shot
The High Liner Foods team: (From left to right) Bill DiMento, corporate director of sustainability; Keith Decker, president and COO, U.S. division; Christopher Trosin, vice president of sales and marketing; and Art Christianson, senior vice president of U.S. plant operations.
Linehan Photography
fish fillet foodservice
High Liner Foods has taken the ideation of a "white tablecloth seafood" and made it easy and convenient for consumers to cook at home.
group product shot
High Liner Foods produces close to 2,000 SKUs of prepared, value-added frozen seafood for supermarkets, club stores, quick-service restaurants, K-12 schools, military, healthcare facilities, casual dining, national chains, businesses, catering, lodging and colleges/universities globally.
inside cover with chef
Keith Decker, president and COO, U.S. division, and executive chef Owen Tilley work together to add new flavor profiles to traditional seafood fare.
salmon foodservice plate
On the foodservice side, High Liner Foods reduced the chemicals used in the traditional manufacture of bleached white, 10-pound corrugated cartons by replacing its signature white carton with an unbleached kraft carton.