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Seafood Processing

BLUMAR BEGINS OPERATIONS AT THE BLUMAR MAGALLANES PLANT

BLUMAR BEGINS OPERATIONS

Blumar begins operations at the Blumar Magallanes plant. 

  • After the fire that completely consumed the Entrevientos plant last February, Blumar announced the start-up of the plant that will replace it, where the salmon produced by the company in the region will be processed.

Five months have passed since the fire that last February completely consumed the Entrevientos plant, which was operated jointly by the companies Blumar and MultiX. Although the fire did not cause harm to people, 760 workers were left unemployed after the total loss of the facilities, which were the most modern in Latin America and had involved an investment of more than US$ 70 million, were declared.

After the incident, and as it ran out of processing capacity in the region, the company temporarily had to transport the production of live salmon by boat to Chiloé for its primary processing and then by truck to Talcahuano for its secondary processing; but at the same time he began to design different plans that would allow the operation to continue in Magallanes, privileging alternatives that would maintain employment and local development.

“We have a commitment to this region, which has great possibilities of developing around salmon and, therefore, we are working intensely to resume the process in Punta Arenas in the shortest possible time, which has meant a great effort for the company,” said Blumar’s general manager, Gerardo Balbontín.

In this line, the company announced that it has already started the operation of the Blumar Magallanes Plant, in a facility that is leased, managed and operated by Blumar. The company reported that for the start-up it made an investment of close to $ 1,000 million and that it has a maximum monthly processing capacity of 3,960 tons.

“This is a very important milestone, since it will allow us to operate efficiently in Magallanes and once again contribute to regional employment, which was strongly impacted after the unfortunate fire in Entrevientos. We hope that in full operation we can have 450 workers, many of them former collaborators of the plant that was destroyed and with whom we have a firm commitment,” said Blumar’s process manager, Fernanda Taboada, who leads the start-up of the plant.

The plant will process fillets and whole salmon, fresh and frozen, which will allow it to continue supplying the national and international markets with Magellanic salmon and which currently represents a third of the company’s production, seeking to contribute to the positioning of salmon worldwide and nationally, where it is the second largest exporter industry in Chile after copper.

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