EPCON Energy & Process Control AS/Gullvika AS from Norway has signed a US 4.7million contract with Nicaraguan seafood and fishing company Nicafish A.S. to build a complete plant for processing deep water langostinos. The deal was closed last August during the Nor-Fishing Exhibition in Trondheim, Norway.
According to Epcon this plant is the first one to be built where the whole animal is efficiently utilized and at the same time causing no negative environment effects. They say the plant is a good example of a future oriented process where valuable resources are secured and utilized commercially.
Three steps
The processing will consist of three phases. The langostino tails are peeled and used for direct consumption. High value proteins are processed from the leftover. Finally the shells will be processed into Chitosan, which is used for water purification, production of special paper, seed protection and dieting ingredients.
Nicafish S.A. has a catch quota of 10,000 tons of deep water langostinos and is the main exporter of fresh fish from Nicaragua. Reider Sundet, Chairman of the board in Nicafish S.A. said: "The marine research vessel Fritjof Nansen proved 15 years ago large incidents of deep water langostinos on the shores of Nicaragua.
My aim has since then been to fully utilize this valuable resource. EPCON/Gullvika has today made this commercially possible through the building of this plant."
Up to standards
Approximately 85 per cent of the plant will be produced in Norway in order to ensure that special nutritional standards for such plants are fulfilled.
The components will be assembled at Gullvika, Lysoysun and tested before shipment to Managua. The training of the local personnel at the plant in Nicaragua is expected to last for 6 months.
The engineering work concluding in the contract has lasted for more than 18 months, when the three companies cooperated in a pilot plan in Nicaragua.
