Landing thinks bigger as it celebrates a decade of design and innovation
Dutch land-based aquaculture engineering firm, Landing Aquaculture, is aiming to establish itself as a first-choice partner for large-scale farms after 10 years in business, during which time it has undertaken 80 projects.
“We started Landing because we recognised a need for more responsible aquaculture services. Growers at the time were seeking long-term partnerships with suppliers who could guarantee performance. We set out on a journey to fulfil that need,” founder and managing director Rob van de Ven said in a press release.
Van de Ven said he and co-founder Carlos Espinal started a fish farm engineering and consultancy business “with just a couple of computers and even asking my parents for space on their farm to store equipment”.
Robustness and transparency
“At that time, our promise was to design robustly, be fully transparent about our work processes, and stay with the client for as long as needed. Ten years later, that same promise remains the foundation of our now larger business. Today, in addition to the engineering and consultancy services that started it all, we also produce and supply equipment and conduct research and development.”
Espinal said: “It hasn't been easy, but there is much we are proud of. This year, we will complete our 80th project, having worked on all continents except Oceania.”
He added that over the past decade there had been no reports of Landing’s systems failing to meet their performance targets.
“Our solutions have been applied in a wide range of species and environments, including salmonids, marine, hatchery, and warm-water applications around the globe,” said Espinal. “I’m proud of our team, who have shown tremendous resilience through many challenging projects. And I’m equally proud of our clients - many of whom are visionaries - who continue to pursue their goals with our support.”
Wide range of expertise
Landing Aquaculture’s projects include engineering and installation of 20 small, independent recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) for Norwegian research institute Nofima’s Sunndalsora facility; a proof-of-concept facility for commercial production of corvina (Argyrosomus regius) in RAS in Portugal; and a technological solution to treat salmon processing waters contaminated with fish blood produced during harvest and bleeding of fish.
In January this year, Landing Aquaculture announced that it had completed the design of a compact recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) that it will supply to an aquaponics project in Ă–stersund, Sweden.
The RAS will yield up to 8 tonnes of Atlantic salmon fillets, while its processed effluents will support a greenhouse capable of producing 100 tonnes of vegetables.
The fish farm will be an addition to a CityFarm project by Agtira, a Farming-as-a-Service (FaaS) business that builds and operates customised greenhouse facilities next to the food supermarkets that buy its vegetables and fish, ensuring they have the freshest produce on their shelves.