Seamless skirts: the latest fashion
The industry’s first seamless lice skirts – which are supposed to be much more durable than their stitched equivalents – have been recently launched by Norwegian Weather Protection Aquaculture (NWP).
“Every year the industry spends vast sums on lice prevention measures. One challenge is that skirts are exposed to excessive weather and may burst at the seams, which allows the lice to get in,” Arne Dalland from NWP told kyst.no.
The company has developed a new production plant for the skirts, which uses tailor-made machinery.
“The new equipment allows us to increase our capacity significantly. We can join fabrics much faster using a specially designed machine from the US,” says Dalland.
The company is currently testing the product in the sea near Bergen, and Dalland says that preliminary tests on the skirts have been positive.
“We have received very good results in lab tests we've run on the skirts, which show that the join is far stronger than the stitched equivalent and lasts longer. The product also provides a smoother surface without a seam, where nothing could get caught,” he elaborates.
“Stitching is certainly the weak point in the product and this means high costs and downtime for farmers if it ruptures. The solution we have created is a new production facility where we can now join together lice skirts, and tarpaulins”, he adds.
The company has worked with the seamless skirts for over a year, but has intensified its R&D during the last three months.
“The results exceed our expectations and we are very happy with what we have created,” explains Dalland.
