USA.- The tru® Shrimp Company, an affiliate of Ralco, announced today that it has completed a major renovation of its tru Shrimp Innovation Center and Laboratory. Highlights of the renovation include extending the length of production Tidal Basins™ as well as replacing flat-bottom nursery tanks with scaled down versions of the production Tidal Basins. The upgrade created more optimal environment where shrimp thrive.
The fully-staffed tru Shrimp research facility is operating at capacity and is available for contract research. The facility includes 144 clear-water primary research tanks, 36 closed-water primary research tanks as well as water quality and shrimp feed laboratories in addition to two production and two nursery Tidal Basins. Patented Tidal Basin technology allows shrimp to be raised in an average depth of 12” of water.
tru Shrimp Senior Technical Director Dr. Jon Holt said the Innovation Center and Laboratory is a state-of-the-art facility where a vast array of research is conducted.
“In the clear-water recirculating tanks we have the opportunity to conduct various types of nutrition studies including, feed additive studies, alternative ingredient studies and we can look at other aquaculture supplements. We make the diets for the trials right at our on-site feed lab,” Holt said. “In the closed-water system we have the opportunity to look at different water treatments.”
In addition to the lab renovation, construction of Balaton Bay Reef Training and Engineering Center, which will serve as a production research center, continues to move forward. The 40’ high building will house eight 150’-long stacked Tidal Basins that create a low stress natural current for shrimp. The Reef will be capable of producing 65,000 lbs. of shrimp annually which will make it the largest shrimp facility in the Midwest. The Reef is scheduled to open during the spring of 2018.
“The Reef enhances our production research capabilities. We now go from 54’-long Tidal Basins in the lab to 150’ in the Reef. We are scaling up our size again and we can still do replicated experimental studies. It’s a scale-up to validate that we can continue to commercialize the technology,” Holt said.
The renovated lab together with the Reef will continue to keep tru Shrimp at the forefront of shrimp aquaculture, Holt said.
“The research facility is unique because we are the only ones working with the Tidal Basin technology. Also, with the clear-water tanks as well as the closed-loop tanks we are one of the top shrimp research facilities in the world. We are solely dedicated to shrimp research and that is very important. We keep our focus,” Holt said.
The tru® Shrimp Company is an affiliate of Ralco, a third-generation family owned multinational company with distribution in more than 20 countries. Ralco supports large segments of the livestock, poultry, aquaculture and crop industries. The tru Shrimp Company strives to supply the world with safe, natural and abundant shrimp.
