The aquaculture supplier formally completed its acquisition of a majority stake in fish farm pen manufacturer Fusion Marine last month and now aim to develop a least one new pen design.
Earlier this year, Gael Force announced it was embarking on a £1m investment programme to increase capacity and develop new value-added products and services for aquaculture producers, while meeting the important opportunities for innovation in the sector.
Work is already underway to develop a new, larger integrated offshore pen which will support a move towards higher energy sites as the industry seeks to unlock Scottish aquaculture’s huge growth potential.
The acquisition of Fusion Marine by the Gael Force Group significantly strengthens the Scottish supply chain, creating a Scottish company of international calibre and positions the Group very well to internationalise its sales. The Group have a clear plan to strengthen its share of its key Scottish market, which is its primary focus, as well as establish significant export sales in its target aquaculture export markets.
The investment to create a Scottish company of scale within the aquaculture supply chain has caught the attention of Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity in Scotland.
Fergus Ewing MSP, who praised the ambition of Gael Force Group and Fusion Marine, commented: “I welcome this investment by Gael Force. Innovation has a key role to play in the sustainable growth of our aquaculture sector and this research and development has the potential to provide a real boost to our rural economy, not least through the provision of highly skilled STEM job roles.
“Companies like Gael Force have a key role to play in maintaining Scotland’s reputation for quality produce and enhancing our position on the global finfish production stage in an industry which contributes £2 billion annually”.
The Cabinet Secretary’s comments come on the back of his speech at Seafood Global Expo in Brussels last week where he gave his strong support for the industry’s target to double production by 2030.
Now part of Gael Force Group, Fusion Marine will retain its business name for a transitional period until the end of the year and will continue to deal with and support their key customers in the Scottish market in the way they always have, which has built their strong relationship based reputation. The company aims to focus strongly in strengthening its customer offering, with very competitive pricing and high levels of service to match the product quality.
Both Gael Force and Fusion teams are preparing for their largest combined presence at Aquaculture UK over two exhibition stands next month, with a range of exciting product launches over 120 square metres
of exhibiting space, including SeaFeed Pellet Detection Software, SeaFeed Steel Barges, SeaGuard 2-channel seal deterrent, plus a preview of the new fish farm pen development.
