Cooke-owned Northeast Nutrition will now produce 100,000 tonnes, up from 65,000 tonnes.
In a press release, Cooke writes that it has finished its CAD 20.3-million (EUR 13.9 million) worth of upgrades at its Northeast Nutrition facility in Truro Mill, Nova Scotia, Canada, which produces salmon feed for its operations in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Maine.
Northeast Nutrition General Manager Matt Miller said the upgrades will greatly enhance the production capacity of the mill Cooke Aquaculture has owned since 2007 when the company bought the former Shur-Gain aquaculture feed mill plant from Nutreco.
“As a result of these investments, Northeast Nutrition will produce up to 100,000 metric tonnes of fish feed each year from the mill’s previous production of 65,000,” said Miller. “Our people are doing excellent work and all of our salmon is reared using feeds that are manufactured in compliance with the highest standards for animal feed safety.”
In 2016, Northeast Nutrition launched a five-year, multi-million investment plan with several equipment and technology upgrades that will enhance product quality, including:
- Replacing all bulk silos to increase available storage to 3400 MT (from 2400 MT).
- A new, larger grinder which increased capacity from 6T per hour to 16T per hour.
- New, high-powered extruder and dryer, which increased the plant’s capacity by 50 per cent.
- Upgraded vacuum coating system to allow for increased capacity.
- New cooler to regulate product temperature prior to packaging.
- New screens and conveyors.
The investments in the Truro Mill are part of Cooke’s 2018-2022 capital investment plan for Nova Scotia. In total, the company is spending CAD 112-million (EUR 76.3 million) on the Truro project, a new A.C. Covert seafood distribution and retail centre, along with a hatchery and post-smolt facilities and seawater site and equipment upgrades.
Joel Richardson, vice president of public relations for Cooke Aquaculture, said:
“Sustainable and healthy approaches to feeding the world’s growing population are more critical now than ever before,” said Richardson.
“As wild fisheries have reached their harvest capacity, aquaculture, or fish farming, is needed so that future generations can enjoy the seafood we produce today. Our commitment to sustainably-sourced feed ingredients, ongoing improvements to feed formulations and innovations in feed delivery allows us to produce healthy fish for our customers,” he added.
