20 Oct 2026
Kieran O’Regan, owner of Shannon Vale Foods, one of Ireland’s leading poultry processors, has a clear focus on quality, efficiency, and sustainability. When evaluating scalding technology for its operation, the company made a deliberate choice to move away from traditional immersion scalding and invest in the JBT Marel AeroScalder.
The decision to install the unique AeroScalder was driven by environmental, operational, and quality considerations.
From a sustainability perspective, wastewater management played a key role in Shannon Vale’s decision to install the AeroScalder. “At the end of production, you’re no longer discharging a large quantity of heavily contaminated, odor-tainted water at 55 degrees directly to the effluent treatment plant. The AeroScalder still discharges wastewater, but this is a very small amount and evenly balanced over the day, making it far simpler for the treatment plant to deal with,” says Kieran O’Regan. “Water and energy use are reduced as well. This is important, because sustainability is vital for all poultry processors today, and the AeroScalder is a major contributor to making this achievable.”
Shannon Vale Foods scalds soft with a strong focus on whole bird quality. “The skin quality should remain intact, with minimal barking or burn marks,” continues Kieran O’Regan. The AeroScalder delivers exactly that. Shannon Vale notes no discernible difference in endproduct quality compared to immersion scalding, while consistency in plucking is significantly higher, resulting from AeroScalder’s strict temperature control. “Temperature settings are very easy to manage via the HMI screen and can be adjusted quickly with an immediate reaction.”
Turning to ease of operation, Kieran O’Regan highlights, “Operational usability was another key benefit. From startup to production temperature, the system takes around 40–50 minutes. There’s a quick-start feature which can also be used via the HMI to reduce that time dramatically when needed. The HMI makes startup very easy and has operator-friendly, useful settings.”
“The environmental benefit is dramatic, both inside the building and externally. The primary area is completely transformed compared to traditional water bath scalding, especially when it comes to the odor associated with that process,” Kieran O’Regan explains. He mentions further significant advantages of the AeroScalder especially regarding hygiene, “Cross-contamination has greatly been reduced and almost eliminated. Cleaning the system after operation is a simple process; you can safely walk into the AeroScalder and access all areas. The AeroScalder has a very good CIP mode that thoroughly cleans the top chamber while softening any major residues in the main chamber. The Chemical Addition and Cleaning modes are very straightforward for all operators.”
Cross contamination is greatly reduced and almost eliminated. Water and energy use are reduced as well.
Kieran O’Regan
Owner of Shannon Vale Foods
Shannon Vale’s AeroScalder is part of a broader investment in JBT Marel technology. “We recently invested in kill and evisceration lines from JBT Marel,” says Kieran O’Regan. “The production and hygiene processes are running very efficiently, and additional value has been created through the harvesting of more edible organs from the evisceration process. We are happy to have achieved this in partnership with JBT Marel.”
The relationship of Shannon Vale Foods with JBT Marel spans more than 15 years. “We’ve worked very closely with JBT Marel over that time, firstly in further processing, then installing ATLAS live bird handling very successfully, and now recently installing our new kill and evisceration lines. We are extremely happy with the result and can highly recommend JBT Marel to everyone. We are already looking forward to working on several new projects together and further building on our relationship in the future.”
Kieran O’Regan once again expresses his satisfaction with the installation: “On such a tight time frame, everything came together and the collaboration with our local engineers worked very well. JBT Marel’s installation team on site was knowledgeable, helpful, and always wellmannered and polite. They are a credit to the company. The production line is working very well. The excellent installation is a great advertisement for both JBT Marel and Shannon Vale.”
Shannon Vale Foods is a family-owned poultry processing company located in Clonakilty, near Cork in Ireland. Operating from an ultra-modern facility, the company processes 200,000 birds weekly and employs around 180 people. While its primary focus is on commercial broilers, Shannon Vale also processes organic and freerange birds. Shannon Vale’s end products are whole birds and portions, also halal, processed into a full range of fresh, frozen, and further processed products, supplying major Irish retail chains, food service customers, local shops, and restaurants.
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