MMC First Process has won a contract from land-based fish-farming firm Atlantic Sapphire, on the back of reporting solid 2020 financial results.
The Fosnavåg, Norway-based company offers handling, processing, and cooling solutions for fisheries and aquaculture firms globally. It reported sales of NOK 535 million (USD 61.5 million, EUR 52 million) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of NOK 44 million (USD 5.1 million, EUR 4.3 million) for the 2020-2021 financial year, which ended in June.
"Last year was in many ways a very good year for MMC First Process. The financial figures were good, and we began to see the results of many months of persistent efforts to develop the company within defined focus areas for growth,” MMC First Process Chairman Pål Brynsrud said in a press release. “It was particularly gratifying that the COVID-19 epidemic only slightly disturbed this picture. We on the board would like to thank the employees and the management for the great job they have done under these demanding framework conditions.”
MMC First Process CFO Christian Olav Balsnes detailed the major contracts in 2020, including “a high level of activity within the wellboat segment, in addition to several projects within pelagic onshore facilities, pelagic fishing boats, and the aftermarket.”
“Beyond this, the company is strongly positioned within land-based farming, and we envisage that we will grow a lot within this segment in the years ahead,” Balsnes said.
Balsnes said MMC First Process, which hired 30 new employees in 2020, bringing its total to 188, “is now in a strong position for further growth.”
“The company is well-equipped to continue to be an important partner for existing and future customers,” he said.
One partner the company has already scored is Hvide Sande, Denmark-based Atlantic Sapphire, which operates recirculating aquaculture system Atlantic salmon farms in Denmark and in the United States. MMC First Process recently announced it had been selected as the fish-handling system supplier for Atlantic Sapphire’s second phase of construction of its Miami, Florida, U.S.A. Bluehouse RAS facility.
“MMC First Process was chosen because their solution satisfies our strict requirements for fish-handling. MMC is a company we know well from before and is a world leader in the gentle handling of live fish,” Atlantic Sapphire CEO Johan E. Andreassen said in a press release.
MMC First Process CSO Frank Edvard Vike said his company has built up its reputation for its fish-handling systems through its work on wellboats and is now transferring the technology to land-based farming. The company’s sales manager for land-based farming, Børre Haanes Waagan,
"Atlantic Sapphire has invested in this technology because it helps ensure the company's goals of sustainable production," says Lars Christian Vik, Fish Movement Design Engineer at Atlantic Sapphire, said that technology is centered around in-water handling and full-water transport, along with proprietary pump technology.
“There is solid development work behind the technology that will now be delivered to Atlantic Sapphire. Through experiments and commercial installations, MMC First Process has documented that fish welfare is very well taken care of with this technology. An important principle for the new technology is to ensure that the whole fish is in water when handled,” Waagan said. “[Through this,] we know that the fish are well when it is moved.”
Photo courtesy of MMC First Process
