March 26, 2013
BioMar builds new facility for research and development
Press release
The construction of a new facility for research and development which will be located with one of its three Chilean factories in Pargua outside Puerto Montt was announced by BioMar Group.
Paddy Campbell, Global R&D Director in the BioMar Group, tells that the new unit will consist of 148 tanks divided on three different recirculation systems. The Feed Trial Unit (FTU) will be the largest of its kind in Chile and it will provide a substantial increase in the trial capacity available to BioMar''s Global Research & Development Organisation.
The capability to perform significant amounts of feed trials is becoming more and more decisive for feed manufacturers. The days when fish feed consisted of a handful of different ingredients are gone. "With the volatile raw material markets and an increasing amount of new raw material types- example protein concentrates -becoming available, feed suppliers have to be able to integrate new ingredients in the feed recipes fast, and with proper documentation of feed performance, flesh quality and fish health," says Paddy Campbell.
The new FTU will enable BioMar to perform simultaneous trials with both fresh and sea water in three separate closed systems with control of environmental factors such as water temperature, oxygen levels, salinity, and photoperiod.
Paddy Campbell tells that the facilities primarily will be used for trials with Atlantic Salmon, Rainbow Trout and Coho Salmon. "We can perform tests with first feeding fry to harvest size, and the facility will include a small hatchery to secure that we have a steady supply of disease free eggs."
Some of the primary focus areas of the Feed Trial Unit will be the further development and refinement of BioMar''s YTELSE Performance Concept and new types of SMART Feed as well as to investigate the link between nutrition and fish health.
The Feed Trial Unit in Pargua will also be used for the development and testing of new diets for recirculation systems such as BioMar''s ORBIT Concept. Paddy Campbell explains that recirculation systems require a much more precise formulation of the feed compared to traditional farming systems; the reason is that the feed used in recirculation systems at the same time must give optimal growth and not hinder.
The announcement of the new Feed Trial Unit comes shortly after the opening of a BioMar Feed Trial Unit in Costa Rica targeted at feed development for warm water fish species, in particular tilapia and shrimp. With the new facility in Chile, BioMar will operate a total of six trial stations in Europe and Latin America, including both land based and marine facilities and covering all growing conditions from tropical to subarctic.