Empagran, the parent company of ABA Balanceados and pioneers in the development of aquaculture diets, is a fully integrated aquaculture company dedicated to the entire shrimp production chain. They manufacture feed for shrimp and tilapia, which they have been raising for over 45 years.
In order to cover the full production cycle of their shrimp, Empagran bought the feed manufacturing plant ABA Balanceados in 1998, which is located just a few kilometers away from their shrimp pools, the Somar packing plant and their headquarters in Guayaquil. Shortly after the January 1998 purchase, an expansion of the ABA plant was completed, allowing Empagran to produce 162,500 40Kg bags of feed per month.
At the time of this first expansion, ANDRITZ extruders were chosen for their ability to perfect a dense pellet that will not lose its structure underwater. Production manager, Mauricio Vernaza explains, “Since shrimp are bottom feeders, the pellet must hold together long enough to be discovered by crustaceans roaming the bottoms of the grow-out pond and they must also be dense enough that they do not float. Sinking must occur in just a matter of seconds or shrimp food quickly becomes bird food.”
Equally as important as sound “sinkability” of the pellet, is the nutritive quality of shrimp feed. Shrimp feed is complex because it must be nutritionally balanced as well as properly sized for healthy growth at each stage of shrimp development from larvae to adult. “We are continuously improving our nutritional formulas thanks to direct interaction with shrimp and tilapia farms and research groups in the field, with whom we verify the direct results of feed conversion.” ANDRITZ extruders allow ABA to produce the right-sized pellet to match the life cycle and nutritional needs of the shrimp.
“The quality and certifications we have been awarded due to our extensive research and development have led to very high demand for our pelletized and extruded shrimp and fish feed. We sell approximately 85% of the feed we produce to farms throughout Ecuador and many other countries, with the remaining 20% used for the feeding of our own stock.”
MAURICIO VERNAZA
Production manager
This growth has prompted the addition of another new plant. The new ABA plant will provide growth areas in the extrusion product line to meet the growing demand for Empagran feed. Having enjoyed a long and prosperous working relationship of approximately 20 years with ANDRITZ, Empagran will once again install the ANDRITZ extruder.
ANDRITZ was chosen because of their product quality and knowledge and because Empagran’s familiarity with their products means less operational training will be needed and implementation will be faster. “However, it is not only because they are a leading brand known for their quality,” Vernaza stated unequivocally, “they also have excellent post-sales services. Logistics are never a problem with ANDRITZ – with other companies, located in other countries, there are language and time challenges that Empagran does not encounter with ANDRITZ because they have representatives and product centers nearby to coordinate and manage projects locally.”
“With ANDRITZ I am comfortable knowing there is someone covering my back, someone responsive, who will return my calls to work on challenges when they are presented. But the biggest reason we chose ANDRITZ is that they are a good group of people who are always so easy to work with, and together, we are a team.”
The new production line is now in the commission period with the full operational launch planned to occur later this month, April 2018. The new production line will add up to 25,000 tons of feed per year over the next three years. Currently, ABA is the biggest and most automated plant in Ecuador, and even though it has the capacity to produce any kind of feed, it has specialized in making feed for shrimp its primary focus.
