In response to an increase in the level of activity and growth in the global market for feed for farmed fish, BioMar is stepping up its research efforts. Fish farmers and feed producers will in the coming years face a number of new challenges, and with this in mind BioMar is recruiting a number of new researchers and merging the regional R&D departments into a new global R&D organization.
BioMar’s operations worldwide are growing steadily, and this growth is accompanied by a need for further development in the research field. BioMar inaugurated a new production line at its plant in Myre in Norway in 2011 and a new facility in Costa Rica is expected to enter operations early in the summer this year. With aquaculture output increasing worldwide, major challenges are expected over the coming years, not least in areas such as fish health, the introduction of new types of raw materials in feed production, the environment, and sustainability.
To match the need for new development, BioMar is investing in short- and long-term knowledge building by stepping up its research effort with the aim of becoming the preferred supplier of the future, thereby realising its ambition of continuously growing the company’s business.
The new research organisation
BioMar established a new global R&D entity at the beginning of the year, by merging three existing regional organizations. The new unit is headed by Paddy Campbell, formerly R&D Manager at BioMar North Sea, and it will be strengthened through the creation of a number of new research posts. Two new product developers already joined the organiszation in the Mediterranean area in recent months.
BioMar's R&D organisation will be further strengthened through the recruitment of a number of new researchers mainly in Norway, reflecting the fact that Norway has a strong research community and an excellent infrastructure for aquaculture research.
As new Director of Research, Håvard Jørgensen will head the Norwegian R&D organization, which is located in Trondheim. Håvard Jørgensen is the former Director of NSL and will take up his post with BioMar at the end of Q1.
Ole Christensen will continue to head the R&D organisation for Continental Europe, while a new R&D Manager in the Americas is expected to be appointed in the coming months. The various research staff will continue to be located in their respective market areas – close to the customer – but all development activities will be coordinated globally with a view to generating more synergies through dynamic and continuous exchanges of knowledge across a wide range of feed markets and fish species.
The primary areas of focus will be the interplay between nutrition and health, environment and sustainability, process technology and feed performance.
