Processing News Huon opens ground-breaking plant
Leading the world
“We have always believed that
Tasmanians have the skills and ability to
grow an industry that leads the world in innovation
”
The north of Tasmania became home to one of the most advanced seafood processing facilities in the world after it opened its new smokehouse and product innovation centre last month, marking a $12 million investment and the creation of 70 new jobs.
AUSTRALIA’S federal minister for employ- ment Eric Abetz and deputy premier and minister for prima- ry industries and water Jeremy Rockliff opened the new fa- cility alongside Huon Aquaculture founders Peter and Frances Bender. Peter Bender said
the opening, at Parramatta Creek near Devonport on the state’s north¬-west coast, marked a major milestone for Huon by bringing its value added processing op- erations to Tasmania for the first time. The company relo-
cated its smokehouse from Adelaide. Its salmon farms are in southern Tasmania. ‘This smokehouse and product inno- vation centre is part of a four-year, $160
44 60
million controlled growth strategy for the company which is delivering increased production capacity and efficiency while reducing our environ- mental footprint,’ said Bender. Around 100 jobs
were created during the construction of the facility and it has opened with 70 new employees already on board. ‘We have always
believed that Tasma- nians have the skills and ability to grow an industry that leads the world in innovation and we are commit- ted to investing in the region and the people who live here, either through direct employment or the use of Tasmanian firms.’ Bender said that the
construction of the new facility utilised
more than 100 local contractors from when the project started in March last year. Frances Bender said
the new smokehouse and product innova- tion centre is one of the most advanced in the world and will greatly assist Huon in its innovative approach to product development. ‘The reputation and demand for Tasmanian produce is growing continuously, both within Australia and through international markets,’ she said. ‘This facility is a
crucial step in en- suring we are taking the highest quality, innovative products to market, all proudly carrying the Tasmani- an brand.’ She told ABC News
that the operation was ‘one of the few places
in the world that whole fish will come in in one end and smoked salmon and pate will go out the other’. ‘It can actually be
harvested that night, trucked to the site, processed and straight into the value¬added smoking process, before the product has gone into rigor.’ The federal govern- ment contributed $3.5 million towards the company’s expansion, which has doubled the previous size of the facility. The company has in-
stalled a wet process- ing line, smokehouses for cold and hot smoked production, machinery for pin boning, skinning, por- tioning and packaging fish.
A new suspend-
ed walkway across existing and new
processing facilities enables staff to access departments without cross ¬contamination. Customers and
visitors can also view various stages in the value¬ adding process. Huon’s general manager of process- ing, Scott Nolan, said the factory is also using some innovative techniques. ‘We cook and smoke
at the same time. Our smokers are really advanced and we push the smoke in from the sides so that means the whole trolley is consistently smoked.’ Nolan, who was
involved in developing the Blar Mhor process- ing facility at Marine Harvest in Scotland, moved to Tasmania nearly 10 years ago. He said value ¬adding is creating new mar- kets for the business.
Welcome move
engaged with the“Young’s have
Scottish government and demonstrated a willingness to listen
”
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
High Liner sales dip
HIGH Liner Foods, North America’s leading fish pro- cessing company, has admitted its decision to pass on higher fish and other raw material costs to the con- sumer has had an adverse impact on sales.
Based in Nova
Scotia, Canada, the company said its sales volumes fell while revenues dropped nearly four per cent in the second quarter of this year. Profits were further affected by unfa- vourable foreign exchange rates. But chief execu-
tive Keith Decker said: ‘With an im- provement in sales trends towards the end of the second quarter, we will continue to focus on increasing volume in the re- mainder of 2015.’
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68