EPSA customise Cat® gensets for Tassal’s salmon farming needs

Tasmanian Atlantic salmon thrive in the pure cool waters of one of the most pristine environments in the world, and salmon farms – circular pens supporting fishnets – are a common sight in the state’s waterways. EPSA’s Cat^® Rental Power division supply XQE gensets to salmon producer Tassal for power generation on four of its fish farms.

Tassal says that preserving the marine environment and appropriately managing the visual impacts of its operations is imperative. This includes ensuring that equipment complies with regulations, with all floating infrastructure associated with the farming operations to be grey or black in colour. EPSA has been working with Tassal for two years and historically have painted our gensets grey to meet this requirement, and then re-paint at the end of each tenure, says EPSA’s Rental Branch Manager, Tas Topalidis.

“We do this to meet regulations to camouflage equipment so it is in harmony with its environment, and to avoid the gensets looking like a white beacon in the middle of the ocean.”

Tas says that the process was expensive and he sought to find a most cost-effective and innovative solution.

“Having previously worked in the rail industry, I knew the viability of vinyl covering on trains for advertising purposes and knew it was a durable enough material to hold up to weeks at sea and then be peeled off the gensets at the end of the project period. I proposed the idea to Tassal and we rolled out the first vinyl-covered gensets in April 2014. The feedback from Tassal was incredible.”

If opportunities are the lifeblood of business, then it must be our people who are the most important component to shape success, says Steve Adamson, National Sales Manager for EPSA’s Rental division.

“An initiative such as this demonstrates the capabilities of EPSA people to deliver the best possible customer service and regional representation.”

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing areas of food production in the world. According to the Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council, the farming of both Atlantic salmon and ocean trout in the Tasmanian marine environment has developed into the most valuable seafood industry in Australia, producing in excess of 48,000 tonnes per annum. Tassal is a leading producer of Atlantic salmon in Australia. It operates two salmon hatcheries, three processing facilities, two retail outlets and marine farms in six regions throughout Tasmania.