Alliance Launches Fully-Tested and Approved Seafood Banding Machine

This Seafood Banding Machine increases efficiencies and lowers overhead costs in Oyster Processing Facilities and decreases the pain associated with manual banding for Lobster Fishermen.

[Hot Springs, AR APRIL 2021] - Alliance Rubber Company is pleased to announce the launch of the first fully-tested and approved Seafood Banding Machine for lobsters and oysters. This machine provides consistent application speeds which, in turn, significantly increases the amount of seafood sent to market.

In the 50 years that Alliance has been providing seafood solutions to the industry they’ve become very familiar with the extreme demands of the profession. While commercial fishing has adapted and changed in some ways over those 50 years, it continues to be a very physically demanding line of work. One significant benefit of the Seafood Banding Machine is the decrease in pain and overall wear and tear on the crew members manually banding the seafood during processing.

Increasing Efficiencies and Lowering Overhead Costs in the Oyster Industry In 2019, Alliance developed an iteration of the Seafood Banding Machine to accommodate oyster banding. Initially, the machine was presented to several clients in the oyster industry for testing within their HPP (High Pressure Processing) operations. The reports Alliance received from these clients were very encouraging. Those who used the oyster banding machine didn’t want to send it back, because they found it significantly increased efficiencies (which lowered their overhead costs). Needless to say, these clients purchased the Oyster Banding Machines and have adopted them into their daily operations. Since that time, Alliance has shipped the Oyster Banding Machine to processing facilities all over the world, and the reports from those companies are the same: increased efficiencies and lower overhead costs. 

Making a Difference in the Lives of Lobstermen In 2017, a call to action was published in the study, “Musculoskeletal Disorders in Northeast Lobstermen”i where researchers concluded that equipment or technology to assist material handling should be a priority. 

It was from that point that Alliance decided to focus its efforts on the development of a banding machine. After partnering with mechanical engineers, a machine was developed and tested in the most heavily fished areas of Canadian Lobster Fishing Districts LFA 33, 34, and 35, located around the southwestern shores of Nova Scotia. It was through this process that they were able to identify specific needs for different captains, vessels, and banders of all levels of expertise and geographically distinct lobster populations. The machine was tested and adapted to meet those needs and left behind with several boat captains over a 30-day testing period. As new challenges were faced and overcome, Alliance benefitted from the generosity of the lobstermen and their communities which gave their time and offered their honest critique to help the R&D team meet those challenges. Martin Collins, Captain of a lobster fishing vessel in LFA 35, was one of the captains that allowed us to test the bander on his vessel. According to Collins, “I normally rely on two guys to band the catches each season, but this time around they couldn’t make it. I had to hire a green bander at the last minute, who suffered from two torn rotator cuffs. To my surprise, this 55 year-old guy who couldn’t lift the traps, was able to process 15,000 lbs. of lobster on this machine without any issues what so ever. If it weren’t for this machine, I wouldn’t have made it through the season.” 

For those interested in seeing a demo of the machine, please visit www.rubberband.com/products/140/lobster-banding-machine to watch a short 2 minute video about the product.

 

Win A Seafood Banding Machine

The complete process to develop both machine iterations took almost two years. Through the diligent work and persistence of the R&D team at Alliance, as well as the numerous boat captains and oyster processing organizations who opened up their operations to the team, these machines are finally available to the public.

 In celebration of the release of these two new Seafood Banding Machines, Alliance is going to choose one lucky winner to receive a machine of their choice. If you’re in the Seafood Processing Industry, all you need to do is visit their official sweepstakes page at: info.rubberband.com/seafood-banding-machine-giveaway and complete the entry form.

 

Read the full study of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Northeast Lobstermen at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28951805

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