New processing plant in Bio Bio region will use cuttlefish to produce frozen products. (Photo:Stock File)
New plant will mean added value to cuttlefish
(CHILE, 7/29/2011)
A new processing plant that opened in Coronel, in Bío Bío region, will use the cuttlefish or giant squid, a resource that until recently was considered a plague, to produce frozen products for human consumption.
With a production capacity of 30 tonnes daily, Mar y Lagos fish factory, which belongs to the entrepreneurs James and Jorge Martinez Lagos, will focus on developing value-added products suitable for export.
This initiative has the support of Corporación de Fomento de la Producción (Corfo) through the Special Areas Fixed Assets grant.
The factory will employ 80 people permanently but its executives expect to reach 250 employees by the end of 2011, thanks to the expansion plans that will be developed soon.
According to Jorge Martinez Lagos, general manager of the company, "about 1,000 people will be indirectly benefitted throughout the year, either shellfish collector divers, artisanal fishermen and charter services."
With regard to the collaboration of the Corporation, the businessperson said: "For us, it was a pretty significant support because Corfo offered funding support as well as additional tools for the investment issue, such as in the business plan."
Corfo Regional Director, Felipe Sanchez Mendez, said that in this investment "several components merge, such as innovation by adding value to a product that was considered a plague, an international market orientation and employment generation, which are values we take into account when supporting a project."
With respect to expansion plans, the company plans to enter the United States and the European Union (EU), apart from strengthening the current eastern market, where the Chilean cuttlefish is sold.
"We have planned an investment of USD 5 million for processing white seafood, such as razor shells and clams. We also want to give added value to the production of cuttlefish and embark on the production of finished products such as nuggets and other packed products," added Jorge Martinez Lagos, according to Corfo.
The company will sell 25 tonnes of cuttlefish (frozen fillets, frozen fins, frozen tentacles and neck) daily to the exporting company Chile Sur Ltda.
According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), in the first half of 2010 Chile exported 154,500 tonnes of cuttlefish, that is to say, 255 per cent more than in the same period in 2009 (43,400 tonnes).
By Analia Murias
[email protected]
www.seafood.media
Information of the company:
Address:
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Moneda 921
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City:
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Santiago
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State/ZIP:
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Región Metropolitana
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Country:
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Chile
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Phone:
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+56 2 631 8200
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Fax:
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+56 2 671 1058
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E-Mail:
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[email protected]
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More about:
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