Garware secured the contract following a successful bid in the procurement tender initiated by the salmon producer.
Indian netting and rope manufacturer Garware Technical Fibres has signed a three year deal with Mitsubishi-owned salmon farmer Cermaq.
The agreement for the supply of aquaculture nets, made from the company’s lightweight Plateena Neo technology includes the provision of lice skirts and other accessories.
Garware was awarded the contract after emerging as the victor of a tender competition run by Cermaq involving a number of Norwegian-owned competitors, according to a release from the Indian company.
The nets will be produced ready for use at Garware’s factory in India and sent to aquaculture equipment supplier Nofi in Northern Norway for treatment before being delivered to Cermaq sites in Nordland and Finnmark.
“We have had the opportunity to test products from Garware over a longer period, and Cermaq is confident that Garware can cover our needs in a satisfactory manner while they have an organization that can help us find solutions that can improve safety, environment, and fish welfare,” said senior purchaser and category leader at Cermaq, Vegar Hakstad.
“We have long supplied aquaculture nets to Cermaq in Canada and Chile, so it is extra gratifying that we are now also a supplier to them in Norway,” Garware Country Manager Pål Korneliussen told SalmonBusiness.
“Garware has produced and supplied nets to Norway for many years, but now we are doing sales and distribution ourselves,” Korneliussen said.
“We have built up an organization in Norway to handle Norwegian customers directly and take care of sales, technical questions, distribution, and logistics. We also issue the necessary certificates and handle documentation, which is becoming increasingly important in the industry.”
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“We have entered into an agreement with Nofi that they will take care of treatment and service of these nets at their facilities in Skjervøy and Kvalsund, so this is a proper tripartite collaboration,” he said.
“We are proud to be able to serve Garware and Cermaq with what we can contribute,” said the CEO of NOFI Aquaculture Service, Rune Bakke. “Now we just hope they win more contracts up here that we can participate in.”
Garware is the world’s largest producer of aquaculture nets and has approximately 5,000 employees. The company produces lice skirts, bird netting, ropes, tarps, and more at its two factory facilities outside Mumbai in India.
Mitsubishi-owned Cermaq is among the world’s large producers of farmed salmon with operations in several countries. In Norway, the company produces approximately 82,000 tons, all north of the Arctic Circle.
