Icelandic equipment manufacturer Marel is poised to take advantage of the fact many of the major Chilean salmon companies starting to farm in the south of the country -- in the Magallanes region -- where a whole new fledgling processing sector is ripe for the taking.

“A number of companies are moving to the south, to Magallanes or region XII, where new farming licenses have been given,” Diego Lages, sales director for Marel Fish, told IntraFish at the recent Salmon ShowHow in Copenhagen.

With these new neighborhoods for farming, the companies are starting to also process fish there and are building more plants in the region, he said.

“There are already some projects down there, and all the big players are thinking of establishing formally in the southern part of Chile, which represents a big opportunity for us.”

The company is confident of getting much more business as a result of this trend, taking advantage of its long-established partnerships with many of the key players in the Chilean salmon industry.

According to Lages, the largest and most automated primary salmon processing plant in the world is in Chile and was made 100 percent by Marel.

“In addition, some of the best secondary plants in the world are in the country, with the likes of Camanchaca for example, which renovated its factory completely and is now Marel’s show plant in the southern hemisphere.”

The equipment maker has also deployed several lines with Cermaq, AquaChile and Los Fiordos in Chile.

“But there is still room for improvement,” said Lages. “The Chilean salmon market has seen strong consolidation over the last few years, and today 15 companies control 93 percent of the exports – so we have to be in a good partnership with them."

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Along with its existing credentials in Chile as a whole, Marel also has experience in the Magallanes region itself, having already fitted out a processing plant for Pesquera Alvarez y Alvarez in Puerto Natales.

“We have one good reference already, so I think we have a good advantage,” said Lages.

Chile’s salmon processing sector competes against many other industries for labor and is impacted by shortages, so companies benefit from having plants with as much automation as possible. In the south of Chile, there is a particular scarcity of labor.

“Also one of the main challenges in moving south is there are no services, no logistics, nothing -- it all has to be built up and automation is going to play a key role in that development. But we are very happy with how things are going in Chile. We are well adopted and our technology is very well received.”