Carsoe to supply automated redfish factory for McGraw Seafood

The existing factory on the New Brunswick shoreline is receiving a significant upgrade with a new and automated redfish factory line from receiving to automatic plate freezers.

A freezing solution for automated production and high-quality products

The goal was clear for the McGraw team; they wanted to diversify their production, create high-quality products and ensure that the line was adaptative. The result was a high-capacity packing and freezing multi species line, set to be delivered by the end of summer 2025.

Regarding the requirements needed, the Carsoe team recommended using an automatic plate freezer for an efficient and continuous freezing flow. With this solution, the products are packed into 12,5 kg freezing trays before entering the complete automate section. The products are quickly frozen in the double-contact plate freezers and automatically prepared for packing, strapping, and check-weighing sections.

“Our goal was to implement a reliable freezing solution that would allow for consistent product quality while reducing manual handling,” explains Nicolas Forget, Project Manager at McGraw Seafood. “The plate freezer allows us to achieve excellent product integrity and traceability while supporting the throughput required for this type of production.”

Adding a new processing line in the existing seafood factory

When adding a new processing line into an existing factory, space, constraint, and processing flow are always the most critical points to consider. The McGraw factory was originally designed for snow crab, and the redfish line is the new addition to the factory.

These issues are familiar territory for the Carsoe team, who have done refits and rebuilds on several seafood factories in the past – both onboard factories and onshore processing plants.

“This is one of the reasons why we chose Carsoe,” adds Jake Augustine, General Manager at McGraw Seafood. “They presented a coherent, turnkey solution that matched our layout and constraints. Their experience in factory trawler retrofits gave us confidence that they could deliver a project tailored to our environment, in an area of our factory with limited space”

Quick delivery and plans for expansion

Both the engineering team and the production team at Carsoe have been running at full capacity over the summer to deliver the factory on time. This ensured that the equipment was shipped on time from the production in Denmark.

“The delivery date of this factory is crucial, as we need to install the factory before the next season begins", Camille Gagné, Area Sales Manager at Carsoe explains. “This is a tall order, but we are more than ready.”

The design for the redfish line at McGraw will open new markets for the Canadian seafood company and with continued improvement as a pillar of their business, the new factory has of course been designed for easy optimization and further automation to accommodate any future needs.