José Luis Charpentier, Ace Aquatec's regional manager for Chile, pictured at the firm's Dundee headquarters. Photo: Ace Aquatec.

Ace Aquatec opens office in Chile

Dundee-based aquaculture technology supplier Ace Aquatec has announced the opening of a regional office in Chile, and the appointment of José Luis Charpentier as regional manager.

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Charpentier, based in Puerto Montt in Los Lagos region, has an extensive background in aquaculture, especially in the salmon industry.

He has held farming roles varying from marine biologist to production and commercial management, and before joining the Ace Aquatec team he introduced LED photoperiod lighting systems to many Chilean farms as part of Bioled Chile.

Relevant actors

“At Ace Aquatec we are constantly working together with our clients, observing their processes and defining improvement points where we apply solutions focused on animal welfare and efficiency from the point of view of operation and costs,” said Charpentier.

“We are confident that we will be relevant actors in the Chilean salmon industry. The concepts behind each of our designs, equipment, and our technology bring leading-edge results.”

Ace Aquatec plans to hire more local staff as it grows its business in Chile.

“We’re currently partnering with excellent well-established local contractors to support with installations, and we expect to benefit from their industry expertise as we grow our own internal team,” said the company.

Nathan Pyne-Carter: Looking forward to collaboration with new clients in Chile.

Logical step

Managing director, Nathan Pyne-Carter, said the decision to expand into South America and open an office in Chile was a logical step in Ace Aquatec’s business growth strategy.

“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, and we are looking forward to working collaboratively with new partners and clients to develop products for this exciting new region,” said Pyne-Carter.

Ace Aquatec’s products include an electric in-water stunner that renders fish unconscious before slaughter, which it already markets in Chile with processing partner Abick. There will be no notable changes to the firm’s relationship with Abick.

“We have a long-term relationship with Chilean processing company Abick as both a distributor and a research and development partner in the region. This relationship will continue alongside the local office development,” said the company.

Predator deterrents

Ace Aquatec’s product range includes acoustic and non-acoustic predator deterrents that are safe for marine mammals, and biomass measurement that uses 3D data for improved accuracy.

The company exports to New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Greece, Germany, Denmark and Russia.

It will be present at stand B307 at Aqua Sur, the largest international aquaculture exhibition in the southern hemisphere, which will take place in Puerto Montt, Chile from 3-5 March 2021.