The concept behind the ValuePump is a large-gauge spiral that forms the body of the system, which provides opportunities to apply a range of functions while fish are in transit from input to output.
"What we have here is a pump, with the added capacity to shorten bleeding times significantly as the fish pass through it," explained Skaginn 3X's founder and CEO Ingólfur Árnason.
But that's just the beginning. While the ValuePump can be used to bleed fish effectively and fast, this offers opportunities to chill, freeze, defrost, disinfect or cook fish in transit as it can cope with temperatures ranging from -20°C all the way up to 80°C, and the options include possibilities for transporting live fish as part of a delousing process."This offers possibilities for significant increases in productivity as the spiral configuration means that we can sub-chill fish two to three times faster using this method. Fish processing demands speed, and this is a tool that can get the fish to optimal condition very fast," he said. "In fact, this is a very flexible and versatile tool that can slot into a processing system. Two pumps would be enough to cover a whole factory's transfer needs."
He commented that the ValuePump itself is not complex technology, as it brings together ideas that Skaginn 3X's engineers have already been working with, but the combination is what makes this special – and highly versatile.
"It's not a fundamentally complex piece of engineering, although it uses much of the technology we have developed ourselves, such as heat transfer techniques," Ingólfur Árnason said. "It can handle everything from small fish up to 10kg fish – and that could be pelagic or demersal fish, wild fish or farmed fish, with a choice of treatments available during the transfer. It's a new tool in the toolbox, and the ValuePump can be large or small, depending on the requirement," he said.
"The mission is to get as close as we can to a 30-day shelf life with efficient and effective chilling," he said, commenting that the ValuePump has been extremely well received.
"It's precisely this innovation that we will be displaying at IceFish 2020. It will be our priority in the next 18 months to introduce its benefits to potential clients at upcoming trade shows, such as the upcoming Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition next year. It's always a thrill to exhibit at IceFish here in our home country of Iceland. The show continues to attract visitors from around the globe and has become a permanent fixture in the event calendar for Skaginn 3X."
If you are interested in exhibiting, sponsoring, attending or speaking at 2020 IceFish please call +44 01329 825 335 or email info@icefish.is.
