Athens, GA, Poultry Complex

Deboner Installation

In 2019, the Pilgrim’s Athens, GA, Debone plant installed four Meyn Rapid Breast Deboners to automatically debone front halves. The Rapid Beast Deboner can process up to 4,200 front halves or breast caps per hour.

This Auto Deboners exemplifies Athens’ commitment to the Pilgrim’s philosophy that “safety is a condition”. Prior to installation, Jarl and his Team spent many hours researching and studying the operational and maintenance aspects associated with the new Deboner Machines. The Auto Deboner has significantly reduced employee exposure to injury and repetitive motion disorders by:

• 1.5 billion repetitive movements are eliminated annually
• 300 hand debone knives were eliminated
• Hand bagging in marination eliminated
• Five hand rework lines reduced to one
• Number of pallet jacks and exposure to associated injuries reduced
• Amount of hand folded boxes significantly reduced