Northeast Nutrition Showcases $20.3-Million Worth Of Upgrades At Truro Feed Mill
TRURO – The local business community got a glimpse last week at $20.3-million worth of upgrades at the Northeast Nutrition Inc. facility that employs 53 people to produce salmon feed for Cooke Aquaculture’s operations in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Maine.
Matt Miller, General Manager of Northeast Nutrition Inc., says the upgrades will greatly enhance the production capacity of the mill Cooke Aquaculture has owned since 2007, when the company bought the former Shur-Gain aquaculture feed mill plant from Nutreco.
“As a result of these investments, Northeast Nutrition will produce up to 100,000 metric tonnes of fish feed each year from the mill’s previous production of 65,000,” said Miller. “Our people are doing excellent work and all of our salmon is reared using feeds that are manufactured in compliance with the highest standards for animal feed safety.”
Northeast Nutrition, located in the Truro Business Park, hosted the open house for the local business community in collaboration with the Truro & Colchester Chamber of Commerce.
In 2016, Northeast Nutrition launched a five-year, $20.3-million investment plan with several equipment and technology upgrades that will enhance product quality, including:
- Replacing all bulk silos to increase available storage to 3400 MT (from 2400 MT).
- A new, larger grinder which increased capacity from 6T per hour to 16T per hour.
- New, high-powered extruder and dryer, which increased the plant’s capacity by 50 per cent.
- Upgraded vacuum coating system to allow for increased capacity.
- New cooler to regulate product temperature prior to packaging.
- New screens and conveyors.
When Northeast Nutrition was established 12 years ago, Cooke was a $230-million company with 1,300 employees. The New Brunswick-based Cooke family of companies now has annual revenues of $2.4-billion and employs nearly 10,000 around the world.
The investments in the Truro Mill are part of Cooke’s 2018-2022 capital investment plan for Nova Scotia. In total, the company is spending $112-million on the Truro project, a new A.C. Covert seafood distribution and retail centre in Dartmouth, along with a hatchery and post-smolt facilities and seawater site and equipment upgrades.
With new upgrades, the Truro Mill will have an enhanced capacity to produce high-quality feed. Farmed salmon are on a strictly monitored diet of nutrient-dense, high performance feed formulated in-house at Northeast Nutrition’s research centre, which oversees ongoing research and development and testing to ensure a product of the highest standards.
Joel Richardson, vice president of public relations for Cooke Aquaculture, says the future of the world’s food supply depends on growing the capacity to farm salmon in an environmentally responsible way.
“Sustainable and healthy approaches to feeding the world’s growing population are more critical now than ever before,” said Richardson. “As wild fisheries have reached their harvest capacity, aquaculture, or fish farming, is needed so that future generations can enjoy the seafood we produce today. Our commitment to sustainably-sourced feed ingredients, ongoing improvements to feed formulations and innovations in feed delivery allows us to produce healthy fish for our customers.”
Cooke is also committed to the growth of the region’s economy through its support of small- and medium-sized businesses. In 2018, the company spent $231-million buying goods and services from 1,269 other local companies across Atlantic Canada. In Nova Scotia, 309 companies are in Cooke’s supply chain and they received orders for $51.5 million in 2018.
The company’s annual contribution to the Nova Scotia economy is significant with $239.5 million in revenues output, $73.4 million in GDP, and 445 full time equivalent jobs.
Banner photo: John White, Northeast Nutrition; Jim Smith, Jim Smith Electric Ltd.; Martin Huybers, Northeast Nutrition; Matt Lavers, Portable Welders; Joel Richardson, Cooke Aquaculture;, Matt Miller, Northeast Nutrition; Sherry Martell, Truro and Colchester Chamber of Commerce; Brennan Gillis, Truro and Colchester Partnership for Economic Prosperity. Image: Northeast Nutrition Inc.
This story was sponsored by Cooke Aquaculture.