From automated shrimp peeling to advanced vision technology, discover how Laitram Machinery is redefining the rules of food processing
Laitram Corporation (Laitram) is a global innovation leader, comprising multiple industry-driven divisions: Intralox, Laitram Machinery, and Lapeyre Stair. Founded more than 75 years ago with a groundbreaking invention in automated shrimp peeling, Laitram Machinery was the original catalyst for what would become a diversified corporation with over 3800 employees, 2200 actively held patents, and a presence in 12 locations worldwide. Today, Laitram’s dynamic portfolio includes not only pioneering food processing solutions through Laitram Machinery, but also cutting-edge conveyance technologies via Intralox and innovative access solutions through Lapeyre Stair. Innovative at its core, the company has an intense commitment to integrity, teamwork, continuous improvement, self-management, and developing the potential of each employee. James Lapeyre, General Manager, joins Food Chain for an informative conversation about Laitram’s history, purpose, and innovation.
“Our mission is to automate the peeling of shrimp, elevating the process from mediocrity to greatness through relentless innovation. We develop these capabilities and apply them in adjacent markets, such as the nut, pet food and poultry industries, where we bring unique and compelling value. Our journey began over 75 years ago when my grandfather was growing up in Houma, Louisiana and his family owned a shrimp factory called the Grand Caillou Packing Company. His father had told him that if he were able to invent a machine to peel shrimp, he could make a lot of money. At just 16 years old, my grandfather pondered this challenge. After stepping on a shrimp and seeing the meat pop out, he started to develop a solution. The core concept was to apply friction to the shell while minimizing it against the meat, allowing the meat to easily pop out. Although my grandfather is no longer with us, his core concept remains central to our mission: to create win-win-win outcomes. By delivering compelling value for our customers, it is a win for them; when we innovate a unique product, the company wins; and with our robust profit-sharing plan, our employees also win. Dedicated to fostering continuous invention, we expose ourselves to challenges and solve them, thereby building our capabilities and creating a virtuous cycle of innovation,” he begins.
Groundbreaking innovation
To understand the impact of Laitram’s technology, James provides an overview of the evolution of the wider shrimp industry in the US. “It is important to note that before automation, the wild-caught shrimp industry was a challenging and miserable environment in Southern Louisiana. The introduction of automation did not just replace jobs; it significantly expanded the industry. Now, we find ourselves in a similar position with farm-raised shrimp. Over the past 25-to-30 years, this sector has grown from a cottage industry into a large global market generating around ten billion pounds annually. Despite its growth, the farm-raised shrimp industry remains highly fragmented and is still at a pre-industrialization phase. Over the last decade, we have been developing innovative technology and virtually reinvented and enhanced existing machinery. Our advancements enable us to peel shrimp to the quality of hand-peeled shrimp, including de-heading, vision grading, peeling, and deveining. However, with low labor costs around the world, we recognize the importance of maintaining high yield and quality to rival hand-peeled shrimp. Thus, we spent ten years inventing the right technology, operating a small-scale production facility to test and refine our ideas. As we speak, we have completed a technology roadmap sufficient to automate shrimp de-heading, peeling and vision grading and inspecting with the SMART Sorter, and we are beginning to commercialize these advancements all over the world, particularly in Ecuador and India,” he reveals. 
From shrimp peelers, Laitram applied its technological know-how and innovative spirit to create other revolutionary products, such as the CoolSteam cooker. “We became familiar with global markets in India, Vietnam, and other regions with relatively low labor costs through our cooking technology. To date, we have installed approximately 300 cookers, pasteurizers and dryers worldwide. This invention stemmed from a commonly observed problem, which is that when cooking at 100 degrees Celsius, the outer surface of the product often becomes overcooked. About 15-to-20 years ago, we developed a method that combines steam and air in a wet-air system, allowing us to cook at temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius and even replicate sous vide cooking. The advantage of this technology is that it prevents the outer layers from overcooking while ensuring the inside reaches the desired temperature. We are continually refining our cooker to achieve a scalable design, making it better with each iteration. At this point, our CoolSteam is the only obvious and viable option for cooking shrimp at scale. Today, the individually quick frozen (IQF) cooked products found at Costco, Whole Foods, or Walmart are mostly cooked using our CoolSteam system. This technology has truly connected us to global markets,” he enlightens.
Strategic solutions
Laitram’s unique technologies have empowered it to diversify beyond the shrimp industry, as James outlines: “There are two widely understood yet often underappreciated physics concepts: phase change and convection. We designed the CoolSteam system to create compelling value in the shrimp industry by improving yields by three-to-six percent compared to traditional water boiling or high-temperature steam systems. Our mastery of these physics principles allowed us to lower temperatures and control them within a fraction of a degree Celsius, ensuring an even application of heat throughout the product. A notable example of our technology’s versatility occurred when a pistachio company in California faced a Listeria outbreak. In the nut industry, Listeria contamination typically affects the surface of the nut rather than the interior. We collaborated with them to eliminate the bacteria on the surface without damaging the product or cooking it, and without adding moisture. To that end, we developed a couple of innovations related to preheating and temperature control that kill the bacteria before the nuts enter the roaster. This means that the roaster can focus on taste and quality without the need for an additional kill step. This situation exemplifies how we develop our core capabilities; we encounter challenges that push us to think creatively and invent solutions. Our pasteurizer has since become the preferred choice in the nut industry, with most of the major players in California adopting our technology,” he ends.
Through its relentless pursuit of technological breakthroughs and customer-focused solutions, Laitram Machinery is set to revolutionize many more industries.