AFT Fluorotec Coatings of Hertford, England, chose Xylan XLR to help a seafood-processing company solve a problem and save money, time and effort.

The company, located in Scotland, has a large product line which ranges from simple cooked fish fillets to smoked or flavoured fillets all the way to speciality gravlax and canapé products. The company encountered a problem and contacted Fluorotec for help. The processing of sweet chilli coated salmon was attempted by the usual method, but it simply did not work.

The process used many wire racks, each about 1200mm square and stacked 30 high. The salmon fillets were laid out on single-use, perforated silicone paper (perforations are essential to perform the smoking process). This worked satisfactorily for other products, although it added more cost due to the special expensive paper, the cleaning, paper disposal and labour costs. However, when it came to processing the sweet, chilli coated salmon, the fillets began to "glue" onto the silicone paper. That ruined everything, including the fillets.

Fluorotec consulted with Whitford, makers of the world's largest line of fluoropolymer coatings, and Whitford suggested a customized version of its Xylan®XLR to coat the racks and eliminate the expensive paper entirely, and not just for the chilli-coated salmon. Fluorotech says "The results were significant, to say the least

".

• £100k annually saved on silicone-paper purchase alone.
• Labour savings in time and money on the paper handling.
• Labour and waste savings in time and money on paper disposal.
• Reduction in environmental damage from using and disposing of the expensive silicone

• Huge reduction in chemical requirements for tray cleaning, for additional savings in time and money plus further environmental impact reductions.
• Even more important, a more consistent high-quality product for the customer, with less waste due to damage.