The Canadian Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT) plans to open a new Aqua FeedTech extrusion facility. The CAT AQUA FeedTech Center will be the first of its kind in Canada, that is available to third parties, and will exist as part of the company’s operations in Souris, PE. It will house a complete pilot-scale feed processing line including two feed extruders and a new nutrition analytical lab.

The addition of the FeedTech Center will be a “game-changer” according to CAT director of Nutrition, Andre Dumas, who will oversee the new operation. “The Aqua FeedTech Center will allow us to develop healthy, high-performance feeds on an accelerated timeline at an optimized cost with minimal waste while complying with the high standards of feed safety and quality assurance.”

The pilot-scale facility will become operational in 2021 and will address specific needs not currently being met, such as producing small batches of research diets needed for testing novel ingredients, customizing and developing new feed formulas and providing a better understanding of the impact of feed processing on pellet quality.

Complementing the first-class nutrition trial services currently offered at CAT, the Aqua FeedTech Center will provide an unprecedented one-stop-shop for clients looking to develop, produce and test new feed for their business. With the addition of in-house feed production, Dumas expects CAT will now produce feed for research trials at least four times faster than the current timeline.

CAT houses a ready inventory of feed ingredients and possesses expertise in regulatory approval and global shipping standards of aquafeed.