Fly-farmer plans UK factories for aquafeed market

The move is part of the waste-to-nutrient upcycler’s plans to build a network of 100 insect protein factories by 2024 and 200 by 2027.

Chief executive Jason Drew outlined the plans to fishfarmingexpert.com after AgriProtein announced that it is moving its HQ to London from South Africa on July 1, the day new EU regulations permitting the use of insect-based nutrients in aquafeed come into effect.

He said: “Our teams are actively developing a number of UK sites at the moment. Whilst our build time is typically only 12 months, this is once we have EIA (environmental impact assessment) and other planning permissions which can take 12- 24 months to obtain.

“The World Aquaculture Society meeting is currently on in Cape Town and we have had a number of visits to our factory. We hope that this will lead to a number of further trials with new species in a range of countries.

“We hope that we will have product available made in the UK and for the UK market within the next three years.”

Fly larvae

AgriProtein supplies its MagMeal and MagOil, made from fly larvae, as protein ingredients to aquafeed producers. The products are also used in poultry and pet food, and a by-product, MagSoil, made from larval residue, is used as a soil enricher.

By rearing fly larvae on organic waste which would otherwise go to landfill, the firm’s technology also helps tackle the world's growing waste crisis, it points out.

Drew added: “With the tide of European regulation starting to move in favour of insect protein for animal feed, we felt the time had come to set up our head office in Europe. We opted for London because of its unrivalled position as a global financial centre and access to international markets. Brexit is no barrier for our technology.”

The company has allocated licences in the US, Asia, Australasia and the Middle East. In February it announced a partnership with Austrian engineers Christof Industries enabling it to roll out its fly factory blueprint on a turnkey basis anywhere in the world at the rate of 25 per year – more than two per month.

As part of the move to London AgriProtein has appointed two new members to its global leadership team to drive its international business expansion. Mark Williams joins as Group COO and Alan Corr as Group CFO.

Drew said: “The appointment of Mark Williams and Alan Corr is a watershed for the business. With their outstanding corporate track records, they’re joining at a time when we’re undergoing massive growth. Mark and Alan share our commitment to finding a better way to feed the world and we look forward to having them on board.”

Depletion of fish stocks

Williams, formerly head of Nomura Investment Banking in Asia, was previously with UBS in Hong Kong for 10 years.  Corr joins AgriProtein from Fidelity International in Hong Kong where he was chief financial & operating officer, having previously managed Macquarie’s Asian wealth management business

Earlier this year AgriProtein entered the Cleantech Global Top 100 and won a CleanEquity award for its environmental technology research. Last year the company won a AU$450,000 award for its industrially-scalable solution to the depletion of fish stocks in the Indian Ocean in the Australian government-backed Blue Economy Challenge.

AgriProtein was founded in 2008 by Jason Drew and his brother, who grew up in the UK but moved to South Africa since 2003. The challenge of making the product commercially competitive was achieved in 2015 in AgriProtein’s first 9,000 m² fly-farm in Cape Town. In November 2016 the company raised US$17.5 million for further expansion, valuing it at $117m and making it the most valuable fly-farming business in the world.