By implementing hygiene and safety measures, Skretting’s ARC Pargua research center in Chile continues to provide its validation and research services to different industry players. The center has 95% of its operations automated and plans to install cameras to support the monitoring of fish and let clients access their tests remotely.

Skretting’s experimental center in Chile has more than 1,000 pieces of equipment including sensors, pumps, filters, etc., vital for the operation of all its RAS systems, both in freshwater and seawater. Besides, it has fish all year-round which allows them to perform tests at all stages for Skretting and external customers. The center is currently working on several projects, including different trials for Skretting ARC Norway, DSM and countries such as Canada and Australia.

Claudio Larraín, technical manager of DSM, said that the experience in Skretting ARC “was tremendously positive. With state-of-the-art facilities, there is total dedication and support from its team, which has given us peace of mind and guarantees reliable results and the management of data confidentiality. We will surely continue working with them.”

Juan Gutiérrez, manager of the center, said that “we recently finished testing for Montana and we are already developing the second part of their evaluations. We also work closely with the technical area of ​​our company, with whom we have carried out follow-up or pre-evaluation phases, which are a good prelude to a larger trial. The objective is to test and evaluate additives or interesting products that can be incorporated into commercial diets.” Facing what is to come, Gutiérrez stated that “for the second half of the year we are looking to expand our client portfolio, start developing tests for European additive companies (Spain, France, Germany, etc.) and also North American, specifically in the area of ​​biofiltration.”

In the medium and long term, Skretting ARC Pargua hopes to continue consolidating its position as a relevant actor in the world of aquaculture research, maximizing its testing capacity and responding to new challenges and requirements from customers and suppliers. “We are very pleased to see that we have made progress in our growth, even in difficult periods, such as the social outbreak and now the Coronavirus pandemic. We are excited that, despite the complexities, we have continued to work closely with our clients, who have seen our center and teamwork to a high professional and technical level,” concluded Gutiérrez.