Vard acquires key equipment supplier

LEADING aquaculture supplier Storvik Aqua has been acquired by Vard Holdings, a Norwegian builder of offshore support vessels, in a deal worth approximately NOK 35 million. Headquartered in Sunndalsøra, Norway, Storvik Aqua has a production facility in Norway as well as subsidiaries in Chile and Scotland, and a total workforce of 33 employees. The company will continue to operate under its existing brand name, but in close interaction with the Vard Aukra shipyard. Its products range from biomass measuring, feeding equipment and oxygen optimisation to tools for closed cage treatment and logging of environmental data. Storvik Aqua’s products will enable Vard Aukra to deliver specialised vessels for fish farming. And with a 30-year track record in the industry, Storvik Aqua has an established customer base that allows Vard Aukra to broaden its relations with potential clients in the aquaculture business. The company also provides a platform for the development of new solutions, in particular within biomass measurement and fish health related equipment. It recently launched the AkvaVision camera, a new solution for more accurate biomass measurement by use of underwater camera. VArd CEO and executive director Roy Reite said: ‘Through this acquisition, Vard confirms its position as a provider of innovative solutions for the aquaculture business.’