1. business and industrial

Le Venec, France
CASE STUDY
Whitefish
“When we purchased the machine, we were looking to improve
the competitiveness and productivity of our business
- the portion cutter has definitely helped us do this.”
Alan Le Venec, Business Owner
Portion cutter expands business opportunities
When Alan Le Venec met Marel at the SeaFood trade show in Belgium, he saw a
demonstration of a portion cutter and knew immediately it had massive potential
for his business. Since then, Le Venec has worked with Marel to optimize the
portion cutter’s use to successfully expand into new customer segments.
Le Venec SA was established in 1946 and has been in the Le Venec
family since 1970. In 2010 Alan Le Venec took over the business
from his parents and has since taken the company from strength
to strength.
The company now has 35 employees based in Concarneau and
Erquy. Every day, they buy fresh fish from several wholesale
markets in Brittany which is then sorted, portioned and packaged
before being sold.
Each year, Le Venec sells 2,500 tons of fish directly to the public
from its recently expanded store and also to businesses primarily
in France, as well as other European countries. The company has
an annual turnover of €8 million.
Adaptability - the key to success
In the past, Le Venec traded almost exclusively in small fish. However, in recent years processes have had to be adapted to handle
larger fish.
This was not only to meet changes in customer preference for portioned fish but also because the company was experiencing more
and more difficulty at supply level. This was due to EU quotas
which were significantly downscaled, especially in terms of fishing
net specifications.
It was therefore necessary for Le Venec to change its business
strategy and make a decision to process bigger fish and supply
new customer segments. This meant that larger fish had to be cut
into smaller and very precise portions. Originally this was done
by hand and was a hard and tiring task for employees who had to
work long hours to meet demand.
Opening doors to new markets
Today, thanks to the portion cutter, new markets are opening up
to Le Venec.
Alan Le Venec explains, “Before, we were limited in terms of capacity
and the raw material available in the market. We produced about
CASE STUDY
Le Venec, France
“The efficiency of the
portion cutter has
improved the working
conditions for my
employees. Now they
have normal working
hours and more varied
and interesting tasks.”
Alan Le Venec
200kg per day. Sometimes we were cutting 5,000 portions per day
and our employees had to work until very late, it was hard and
tiring.”
Local support and rapid response
An important factor for Alan Le Venec when purchasing a Marel
machine was the convenience of a sales and service unit in Brittany.
“Now,” he adds, “we process about one ton per day, but the machine actually has the capacity to handle up to one ton per hour.
So there is great potential to expand our business even further.
We also have much more flexibility when it comes to raw material.
Being able to portion the larger fish that is in supply, and developing new customer segments as a consequence, has been critical
for the development of our business.”
“I appreciate my relationship with Marel. It’s really convenient to
work with a supplier located in Brittany,” says Alan Le Venec. “If I
have a problem I can call Mr. Daniel the Sales Manager or Marel’s
after-sales staff and speak with their technicians who respond
very quickly - that’s really helpful.”
Increasing competitiveness
“When we purchased the machine, we were looking to improve
the competitiveness and productivity of our business - the portion
cutter has definitely helped us do this,” says Alan Le Venec.
Marel’s portion cutters are extremely accurate and reliable and
are designed to give immediate results on the bottom line. They
are the ideal solution for high-value portioning of whitefish into
fixed weight and shapes. With user friendly software and flexible
functions, it’s easy to move from inaccurate cutting by hand to
accurate portions, on weight every time.
The portion cutter is not only a time saver that results in less
waste, better productivity and a smaller margin of error, it also
helps to improve working conditions for employees. Alan Le
Venec explains, “The efficiency of the portion cutter has created
more time for my employees to perform a variety of other tasks.
It has also minimized the overtime necessary for us to keep up
with demand. So they now have normal working hours with more
varied and interesting tasks.”
Marel provides professional service solutions worldwide, either
on-site or via remote access. We constantly seek to ensure that
equipment performs at an optimal level and meets customer
needs, each and every day.
Marel’s global service organization includes more than 600 service
specialists, located in approximately 30 countries that perform an
average of 1,000 customer service and maintenance visits each day.
Future potential
The portion cutter has allowed Le Venec to become more compe­
ti­tive, reduce loss and to provide a better working environment
for their employees.
“The machine is really important for our business now. It’s allowed
us to adapt and expand. We’ve got hope for the future because
working like this means we don’t have to put
all our eggs in one basket,” says Alan Le Venec.
“If I was in need of another machine - I
wouldn’t hesitate to buy one from Marel
today.”
marel.com/I-Cut11