April 17, 2020
Cooke Inc. resumes salmon feed processing at UK mill
Cooke Inc. has resumed production of salmon feed at its mill in Invergordon, Scotland, with the ability to produce for both seawater and freshwater production sites across three lines.
Cooke Inc., a Canadian aquaculture, fisheries and processing group, acquired the facility in September 2019 via subsidiary Northeast Nutrition Scotland, after former owner Skretting shuttered the facility in April 2019. It was the sole UK manufacturing operation for the Nutreco-owned feed giant.
Invergordon Mill Manager Chris Bryden called the restarting of the mill "a milestone moment for the company."
Cooke began operations at the site in January, and has since re-hired 22 staff for the mill.
The company, which has both Label Rouge and organic certifications, will utilize raw material from fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
The mill will supply feed to Cooke subsidiary Cooke Aquaculture Scotland in Orkney and Shetland, but the company added it plans to expand its customer base in both the UK and other regions.
Also on Thursday, Cooke announced it would continue with its CAD112 million (US$80 million/EUR74 million) expansion plans in Nova Scotia, despite Mitsubishi-owned rival Cermaq announced it would be letting all lease options awarded by the Province of Nova Scotia expire.
Cooke subsidiary Kelly Cove Salmon aims to expand salmon production to 30,000 tonnes.