A new mackerel and herring processing facility and cold-store upgrade is in progress in Peterhead, as Denholm Seafoods is putting £30 million into one of Scotland’s largest ever investments in processing wild-caught fish.
The extensive upgrade will pay dividends in terms of increased efficiencies and product quality, and a lower carbon footprint as the sophisticated new handling and storage system will provide opportunities to develop new markets.
The upgrade will enable Denholm Seafoods to increase its daily freezing capacity and boost cold storage capacity to 19,000 tonnes. The investment includes the construction of a new 12,000 square metres cold store adjacent to the current Denholm Seafoods processing site at Peterhead harbour, which will be completed by late summer 2023.
The new facility has been designed with future expansion in mind with the potential to significantly increase freezing and storage capacity.
The existing Denholm Seafoods processing facility will be refurbished with the installation of a highly automated fish processing system. This phase of the project will be completed by summer 2024 and will result in significant savings in energy and packaging costs, as well as enabling greater volumes of fish to be handled.
The provision of a new low pressure pump system to offload mackerel, herring, and blue whiting catches will deliver fish quality benefits, which will be further enhanced by a new non-pressure plate freezing system that freezes product much quicker than was previously possible.
The smart process is designed to take about six hours from the time the raw material enters the factory through to frozen product being transferred to cold storage. The upgrade is expected to deliver energy savings in the region of 30 to 40%, contributing towards Scotland’s net zero targets.
‘We are tremendously excited by this new investment, which will deliver benefits to Scotland’s important pelagic sector, and provide us with a platform for new growth,‘ said Richard Duthie, managing director of Denholm Seafoods.
‘With soaring energy costs and the need to increase efficiency, product quality and automation, this project will ensure we remain competitive in a global marketplace and enable us to develop markets in key areas such as the Far East. It will, for example, enable us to explore new opportunities in value-added processing by providing increased flexibility in meeting customer requirements. Research has shown that Scottish mackerel production already has a much lower carbon footprint compared to most other types of protein production, and this new facility will enhance that green reputation even further.’
The project is supported by £2.80 million in funding under the Defra UK Seafood fund and £1.20 million from the Scottish Government through the Marine Fund Scotland.
A new low pressure pump system is being installed for offloading mackerel, herring, and blue whiting catches from fishing vessels
