February 26, 2015
Cargill completes US$8-million fish feed plant in Mexico
Cargil Mexico announced it has inaugurated the expansion of its animal feed facility in Tehuacán, Puebla, as part of the celebrations for its 150th global anniversary and 50 years of operations in Mexico.
Gerardo Quintero, managing director of Cargill''s Feed & Nutrition business for Mexico and Central America, said the US$7.8-million expansion involved the construction of a new extrusion line for the production of fish feeds, particularly for tilapia, trout and catfish.
The extrusion process aims to increase the competitiveness of the facility by improving the performance, cost and benefits of the feed, as well as its conversion ratio. These innovations would allow Cargill to increase the quality of the product it delivers to its client.
The new infrastructure would also strengthen the company''s capacity to serve the markets of Puebla, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula, while increasing by 5,000 tonnes the monthly animal feed production capacity of the facility.
It is part of a $16 million-investment plan to position the company''s animal nutrition solutions in the aquaculture markets of Mexicoand Central America.
"This new investment endorses our confidence in Puebla, a state that has promoted the social and economic development, in which we have had the privilege of operating throughout 49 years", Quintero said.
Marcelo Martins, president of Cargill Mexico, also endorsed the company''s commitment to the continuous development of the country''s agribusiness. "Cargill will continue working hand to hand with authorities and producers, offering finance, risk management solutions, reliability in the purchase of crops and products, new international markets for the nation''s yields and products, as well as high quality and performance nutrition solutions, while collaborating in the selecting of the best products, with the support of our deep insight knowledge of the agribusiness markets", he stated.
"Our goal", added Martins, "is to help the Mexican agribusiness sector thrive for the next 50 years".
Cargill''s facility in Tehuacán started operations in 1966 and currently employs 112 people.
Nationwide, Cargill Mexico, which began its operations in 1965, employs over 1,700 people in 13 states.