Fish feed production facility in Tasmania scheduled to begin full production by midyear
BioMar Australia has made progress on a new aquafeed mill in Tasmania and expects to begin full production by midyear.
In a press release, the company said it would begin commissioning the AUD56 million (US$39 million) fish feed production facility in early February, with an official opening slated for April.
“The team move into the new office building next week and ‘dry commissioning,’ where we run all
factory machinery and control systems is underway as per our detailed plan,” said BioMar Australia CEO David Whyte. “We’re looking forward to completing the dry phase in the next couple of weeks and then move onto trial manufacture where we’ll be producing the finished products.”
Whyte said the mill will produce 110,000 ton of aquafeed per year and will create 55 full-time jobs and another 30 jobs regionally through indirect support, operational, port services and logistical roles. The facility is located at the site of a former particle board manufacturing mill. The company has said previously that the development will “revitalize” the site.
“Ingredients are arriving at the plant ahead of starting manufacture and it’s great to see the refurbished
original warehouses starting to see some action,” Whyte said. “We have already received interest in the project from local Tasmanian primary producers to supply ingredients and have had some preliminary discussions to date, with these discussions continuing throughout the year.”
The company announced plans for the new facility in Wesley Vale in December 2017 and received final approval to begin construction in August 2018. BioMar entered the Tasmanian fish feed market in 2003 and holds a well-established position in the area as the leading supplier of high-quality fish feed for Atlantic salmon. Based in Denmark, BioMar Group supplies feed to at least 80 countries and to more than 45 fish species, according to Feed Strategy’s Top Feed Companies database. BioMar is a holding of the Danish investment firm Schuow & Co.
