Top feed producers join forces

Coppens joined animal nutrition giant Alltech in 2016, while Guabi entered into a strategic partnership with Alltech earlier this year. Alltech is now linking the two feed producers from opposite sides of the ocean to accelerate solutions for the aquaculture industry.

“The opportunities between Coppens, Guabi and Alltech are exciting,” said Paulo Rigolin, strategic director for Alltech. “You have leaders in two different regions — Latin America and Europe — combining technology and expertise from more than 20 years of working in aquaculture. This strength is underpinned by Alltech, a leader in numerous agricultural sectors, including aquaculture.”

Guabi and Coppens have begun discussing opportunities, and it is expected that algae technology will be a significant focus.

Profitability for producers

“It’s a great opportunity to further apply new technologies to maximise performance for aquaculture species, but more importantly to bring profitability to producers and the highest quality products to consumers,” said Rigolin.

Guabi has expertise in extruded feeds and solutions for a variety of aquaculture species, from shrimp to native South America freshwater fish. In addition to  feeds incorporating Alltech’s sustainable alternatives to fish oil and inorganic trace minerals, Coppens specialises in nutrition for recirculating aquaculture systems and recently announced a $1 million expansion of its research centre in the Netherlands.

Anno Galema, managing director for Coppens, said: “The new Coppens Research Centre will enable us to do more relevant studies and, more importantly, work with more species than previously, while also providing a training centre for our staff around the world and customers alike.”

Coppens and Guabi will share information on formulations, manufacturing techniques, and raw material and ingredient utilisation.

Local expertise

“These are two leading companies in aquaculture feeds, each with unique local expertise,” said Patrick Charlton, CEO of Coppens. “We are very optimistic about what we might deliver to our customers through a collaborative approach to the pressing issues aquaculture faces.”

According to the 2017 Alltech Global Feed Survey, the aquaculture industry experienced a 12 per cent increase in feed production in 2016, reaching 39.9 million metric tons.

“We have seen aquaculture as key to our global growth for many years now, and the work with Coppens and Guabi allows us to be able to provide our customers with feeds incorporating the Alltech technologies that we believe are most critical to improving health and performance,” said Dr Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech.

“Through these relationships and our shared commitment to innovative research, we believe we are well-equipped to provide our customers with a level of support and expertise that is unrivalled in our industry.”

Lyons added: “We are already looking to add one or two more complementary partners to our aquaculture programme.”