Alltech, Finnforel acquire feed facility in Finland for circular economy fish farming

Finnforel seeks to build sustainable aquaculture ‘gigafactories’

Agriculture and animal nutrition leader Alltech is teaming up with Finnforel, a circular economy company based in Finland, to acquire the Raisioaqua fish feed production facility from Raisio.

The facility manufactures feed for aquaculture and specializes in functional feeding solutions that are suitable for northern conditions. The acquisition completes Finnforel’s sustainable circular economy fish farming chain while also enhancing fish farmers’ access to Alltech’s nutritional technologies.

“Aquaculture continues to be one of the world’s fastest-growing sources of protein, according to Alltech’s annual Agri-Food Outlook, and is one of the key focus areas for our business,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech.

“Together with Finnforel, we will be enhancing the quality and availability of nutrition for sustainable aquaculture systems. Aquaculture producers will benefit from the strength of Alltech’s scientific research and commercial expertise globally, including a dedicated aqua nutrition research center, the Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre (ACAC) in the Netherlands, which specializes in nutrition for recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS),” Lyons continued.

Finnforel also specializes in RAS, which allows producers to control water purity, temperature, stocking density and feeding while requiring less water than traditional methods. “I believe that Finnforel’s well-honed model, which works without antibiotics or environmental emissions, can support a significant part of this market,” said Pekka Viljakainen, chairman of the board of Finnforel Oy.

“At the heart of Finnforel’s strategy are so-called gigafactories specialized in sustainable aquaculture,” added Viljakainen. “In these aquaculture gigafactories, the entire production chain is in our own hands, from the parent fish and the eggs they produce to the consumer products.”

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