RAS expert plans to export Norwegian fish welfare
Pure Salmon Kaldnes - formed this June when Singapore based 8F Asset Management bought the RAS division of Norwegian company Krüger Kaldnes – said it is gearing up to ‘export fish welfare’.
The new company, which has about 60 employees across its main base in Sandefjord and branch office in Dramme, is to set up new locations in Norway and abroad.
It has already created a division in Denmark and plans to send staff to 8F owned parent company Pure Salmon’s new Abu Dhabi headquarters.
Operations director Frode Eriksen said that among the most important contributions Pure Salmon Kaldnes can make internationally, in addition to its technology and expertise, is Norwegian best practice in fish welfare and the environment.
‘Here in Norway, we operate within strict regulations and requirements regarding the environment, sustainability and fish welfare, and we will definitely bring this forward far outside our borders and over to the new group, that already has a strong focus on sustainability.’
But despite the company’s global reach, CEO Kent Kongsdal Rasmussen said that Pure Salmon Kaldnes will offer the same services, technology and expertise as before the acquisition, with investment at ‘full spead ahead’ at home in Norway.
Unique skills
‘The only difference is that we are now able to equip ourselves for proper growth, both nationally and internationally, alongside cultivating ourselves as a supplier of technology solely aimed at land-based farming,’ he said. ‘All our employees and their unique skills continue onboard.
‘Today we are already delivering solutions to a number of large projects under construction all over Norway, and we are now continuously considering to join brand new and very exciting projects here at home.’
One of these projects is Norwegian salmon farmer SalMar´s NOK 1.2 billion (£98m) Tjuin plant at Malm in Steinkjær, one of the world´s largest and most advanced facilities for the production of juvenile fish.
It will have an eventual capacity for 50 million smolts, with the initial stage, due to be completed in 2023, producing 20 million smolts.
Consumption
The recirculation technology, supplied by Pure Salmon Kaldnes, will reduce fresh water consumption by more than 97% compared to traditional flow through systems.
SalMar biology project manager Karl Christian Aag said: ‘There was a lot of competition to get the assignment, but Pure Salmon Kaldnes was chosen due to price, technology and experience.
‘We have had several good processes with the former aquaculture division at Krüger Kaldnes, and we are now looking forward to further collaboration with Pure Salmon Kaldnes.’
Pure Salmon Kaldnes will be at Aqua Nor in Trondheim, which runs next week, from August 23 to 27.
