Skretting has a long and proud history in aquafeed technology research, and many feed breakthroughs have been made possible through progressive and extensive research from Skretting ARC’s Feed Technology Plant (FTP).
This year, FTP celebrates 20 years, from the very beginning of aquafeed extrusion research in 1997, to the present, where it functions as a high-tech small scale factory, producing feed for trials all over the world.
With a growing demand for aquaculture products worldwide, it is increasingly important to optimise extrusion and pelleting processes. Located in Stavanger alongside Skretting ARC’s headquarters, FTP contains an entire factory in a smaller scale, including 3 extruders, pelletiser, drying, coating, mixing and packing stations, in addition to laboratory facilities. With these state-of-the-art facilities, FTP essentially allows radical and innovative theories to be tested on a pilot scale before being rolled out under commercial conditions.
Indeed, without FTP, fish and shrimp nutrition research would be impossible. “FTP is an essential part of our operations in Skretting,” says Nanne Jørum, Manager Trial Unit at Skretting ARC. “Aside from developing and optimising processing capabilities to further the flexibility in feed formulation, these facilities enable us to optimise production, ensure control over every process and develop best practice methods for all Skretting factories.”
Beate Johansen, Manager at FTP has been overseeing the facility for 4 years. She says that the demand for production is only increasing. “In the past year we produced 772 different feeds, including both fish and shrimp.
“The factory is operating 5 days a week, and we have a production waiting list stretching to 5 months. This makes for some challenging conditions, but we have an excellent team here, and it’s always great to see them working hard together with the researchers from the different departments here at ARC.”
Roar Jacobsen has been at the heart of Skretting ARC’s feed trial facilities since the very beginning. He is now R&D Coordinator at FTP, and has seen the development from simple extrusion facilities, to a state-of-the-art factory with the ability to produce feeds from 0.5 mm to 20 mm - sinking and floating, for fish and for shrimp. “It has been an exciting time to witness the development of technology in aquaculture feed production and research. I have worked in collaboration with many researchers over the years, and it’s always a fantastic feeling to be able to produce exactly what they need and see the feed sent out to Skretting facilities all over the world. FTP is a valuable and essential resource for Skretting. This year we are celebrating 20 years, and I am excited to see what the next 20 years will bring.”
Yamani Nakata Suisan operates a red sea bream and striped jack farm around Japan's Mitsuhata Island, and they raise their red sea bream on Skretting's Nutra and Extreme diets.
