Turning yield into profit

Meat processors are operating in a volatile market, with global events impacting prices and labour markets. In this environment, maximising yields and streamlining operations is essential to remain competitive.

Henry Brook, MULTIVAC UK sales director, explains: “Catering butchers are facing a perfect storm of cost inflation. UK beef prices have risen by more than 25%, and some premium cuts are approaching double their 2022 value. At the same time, labour costs have increased by around 10%, energy remains expensive and regulatory costs continue to rise, meaning protecting yield, reducing labour dependency and improving efficiency have become strategic priorities rather than operational nice-to-haves.”

GMS 400: quality and consistency for improved profitability

As beef prices continue to rise, the cost of giveaway, trim and product downgrades has become a major drain on profitability. The TVI GMS 400 is designed to help catering butchers recover margin by maximising yield, reducing waste and lowering labour dependency.

Alex Trkman, MULTIVAC UK product manager, said: “While labour savings are important, the greatest financial return often comes from improving yield and reducing giveaway, particularly in today’s high beef price environment.”

Able to handle a wide variety of primals, it combines bone-in cutting capability with dicing and stir-fry applications to maximise utilisation and return on investment. Patented press-and-slice technology shapes irregular cuts before portioning, producing more premium saleable product while significantly reducing trim and end-cut losses helping processors recover maximum profit from every kilogram processed.

Typical savings using the GMS 400 range from £50,000 to £100,000 per year, with one MULTIVAC customer forecasting annual savings of more than £200,000 by processing 2.5 tonnes of steak per week, driven primarily by yield gains and reduced giveaway.

At a glance:

• Bone-in, dicing and stir-fry applications.
• Consistent portions for retail presentation and foodservice cooking results.
• Real-world yield improvements of 6% on sirloin and 10% on rump, plus giveaway reduction of 74%.
• Automatic shingle-stacked portions to reduce manual handling and increase throughput.

R 085: addressing labour and packaging challenges

Packaging remains an area where many catering butchers experience unnecessary labour costs, inconsistent pack quality and production bottlenecks. Operations still relying on traditional swing-lid vacuum chamber machines often require additional operator involvement and can struggle to achieve the consistency demanded by modern food service and retail customers.

The R 085 Thermoformer has been designed to overcome these challenges, while maintaining a highly compact footprint. In many applications it can reduce labour requirements by one or even two operators compared with swing-lid systems, while delivering improved presentation and virtually eliminating pack leakage.

At a glance:

• Quick product changes. No tools required.
• Small footprint, starting from just two metres long.
• Labour saving, high-output packaging with a single operator.