Bell Aquaculture Plans Major Expansion
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowJay County-based Bell Aquaculture is planning a $30 million expansion that could create 75 jobs. The project involves growing its fish feed mill and farming operations in east central Indiana. Chief Executive Officer Norman McCowan tells Inside INdiana Business plans also call for a nearly 60-acre aquaculture park that could serve as a hub for his company and others. The first phase of the project, a new feed mill in Delaware County, is expected to be operational in April. The next, larger phase is set to begin in January.
The company is set for a zoning board hearing on Thursday that would allow for industrial operations on what is currently agricultural property.
Bell recently acquired Integral Fish Foods and relocated the Colorado-based company's operations to its Albany facilities. McCowan says the growth of its food source production division could feed the needs of the company and potentially other area businesses.
Bell has also launched a research and development division and the company began working with the Indiana Soybean Alliance to develop alternative protein sources derived from the crop.
Sources: Inside INdiana Business, Bell Aquaculture
February 25, 2014
News Release
REDKEY, Ind. – Bell Aquaculture announced today plans to open a feed mill to supply feed for the local and national aquaculture industry. The new mill, located at Bell Farms in Albany, Indiana, will be the first of its kind to locally produce feed to service the aquaculture industry on a mass scale using local Indiana ingredients.
Scott Nelson of Integral Fish Foods, recently purchased by Bell, will be the head of operations for the mill. Scott brings 30 years of experience in fish feed production, and will provide Bell with the expertise to produce feeds specific to fish species and key periods in the life cycle of the fish.
The mill is expected to begin production this April with a production capacity of 2.2 million pounds per month, sourcing 50-60 percent of ingredients locally. “Our mill will benefit the county and the state by providing jobs and increasing demand for locally produced soybeans and grains, while also providing feed to support the growing local aquaculture industry, ” said Norman McCowan, President & CEO of Bell Aquaculture.
The mill is expected to generate up to 25 new jobs over the next 36 months, while reducing the need for local aquaculture industry to source feed from remote locations, thereby completing a cycle of sustainable aquaculture for local supply and demand.
When asked how the mill would affect local soybean farmers, ISA President Dave Lowe commented, “The opportunity for aquaculture is immense. We have needed this mill in Indiana to have the ability to source feed locally for quite some time. There are thousands of tons of ingredients for feed within a very short distance of Bell. It is time that the general population, counties and state benefit from the tax base and revenue stream that this mill will provide.”
About Bell Aquaculture
In 2005, Bell Aquaculture was founded in Redkey, IN as a solution to a problem – the fish in Lake Michigan were contaminated. Bell has invested $20+ million in an aquaculture research and development center and built a state-of-the-aquaculture facility located in rural Indiana, USA to provide a toxin-free supply of fish to meet the demand. Bell offers trout, salmon, perch, feed and fertilizers that are derived from fish to contribute to the life cycle of humans and fish – part of our broader philosophy to use all that is available to us to benefit to humanity and our planet.
Source: Bell Aquaculture