The vessels range in size from 240 to 1,000 tons, with a total hold capacity of 12,500 metric tons. A large portion of the fleet is refrigerated, thus guaranteeing a fresh supply of fish.
*VLT = Very Low Temperature

Austral's production capacity is large, thus ensuring that the fish is processed in a short period of time, thereby not allowing the decomposition of the raw material to take place.

A two phase drying process is required to incorporate the low temperature, short time period technology.

• The first phase is steam drying. We use tube steam dryers which work at a low pressure (4.5 Bar). This reduces the operating temperature within the tube dryers which in turn significantly lowers the maximum product temperature. The critical parameter is that the maximum product temperature of the tube dryers is 20 C to 30 C lower than that of the Rotadisc dryers.
• The way we deliver warmth to the fishmeal is also different and favors a tube dryer method. Residence time in the tube dryers is only 20 minutes, while Rotadisc dryers require 2 hours or more.
• The combination of drying fishmeal at a low temperature and in a short period of time results in a highly digestible product.

It is important, for digestibility, to maintain moisture around the protein. To accomplish this it is essential to keep the maximum product temperature inside the dryers below 100 C. Austral uses this low temperature technique to ensure that the protein in its fishmeal has not been damaged.

Using the traditional fishmeal drying process (a one phase steam dryer system) protein damage often occurs due to overheating. This happens because in the final stage of drying there is not enough moisture present to protect the protein.

This is why Austral invested in German and North American technology (Geka Thermal Oil Systems) for the second and critical phase of the drying process. The systems uses indirect hot air, this results in no damage to the protein.

Field tests have been conducted on the digestibility of fishmeal produced using the two phase drying systems versus the one phase system. These tests were conducted in the poultry, salmon, and mink farming industries. The results show, using the same raw material fish stock, that there is a 3% invivo gain in digestibility compared to the traditional (one phase) drying process.

An additional benefit realized by our two phase hot air drying system (Thermal Oil System) is that we assure a higher specific density of the product, compared to the very fluffy meal produced using the Rotadisc dryer method.

This high density reduces the storage space required and it has enabled us to reduce the transportation costs. Our customers have indicated that having this higher density product has enabled them to realize better flow rates in their feed plants. The fluffy fishmeal can be a problem, particularly to fish farms which use an extruded fish diet. The problem occurs because fluffy fishmeal often tends to make the fishfeed float.

The two phase drying system (Thermal Oil System) is more expensive than the traditional system and its operating costs are higher, but the benefits gained, a guaranteed better quality product, outweigh these added costs.

At our laboratories we perform the following tests:

	* Protein			* Histamines
	* Humidity			* Biogenic Amines Index (BAI)
	* Fat				* TVN Fish / Fishmeal
	* Salt				* Torry Modified Digestibility
	* Ash				* Microbiology
	* Sand				* Amino Acids
	* Free Fatty Acids		* Vitamins
	* Peroxides			* Sanitary Control
	* Antioxidants

We produce VLT ®, Aquagrade, prime quality fishmeal due to two factors: a constant supply of fresh fish and the specialized process we use to produce the fishmeal.

At our plants, we work with 100% steam hot air dryers, product coolers, and falling spray evaporating stickwater units. We package in a controlled environment. Our laboratories are an important asset. We do all standard analysis of fishmeal, TVN, microbiological tests, biogenic amines index (BAI), amino acid profiles and vitamins.

The various Stengel generations have impressed a distinctive mark according to the times in order to obtain high-quality products.

The founders were the ones who inspired the concepts of Total Quality in the fishing and working up processes as well as they gave priority to the human resource as one of the most valuable assets.

The present generations have given the processes technical character watching over their excellence stressed in the workers' training and improvement; diversifying the products according to the market needs which are more demanding every day.

Today, Pesquera Bio Bio produces fish meal, fish oil, and fresh fish. In addition, it produces frozen and canned fish through its branches Congelados del Pacifico and Unifish Canning.

The familiar Stengel distinctive mark, in every step of the process, has made the company have a wide acceptance in the market getting to five continents.

Our fishing activity assigned to the fresh consumption and to the frozen production comes mainly from our trawler fleet. We stand out in that our processes and quality controls guarantee that these products meet the requirements of the most demanding consumers.

Our pelagic fleet supplies the fish meal, and preserved fish plants preferably. Our preserved manufacture uses advanced world technology, ensuring a very high quality and homogeneous production.

Our fish meal and fish oil production intended mainly to get excellent products has a special importance since internationally tested quality equipment with advanced technology is used in its process. It is remarkable to point our that our production is steam dried in 100% and that our process controls, which includes a strict hygiene, can guarantee a Prime fish meal elaboration requested at present mainly by the most important both national and international consumers.

• Fishmeal
• Fishoil
• Fresh fish for human consumption
• Frozen fish
• Canned fish

We in el Golfo are proud of being one of the leading Chilean fishing companies and will continue improving our operation to better serve our customers.

Each one of our more than 1,500 employees is fully committed to customer's satisfaction.

Our goal is to deliver top quality products, efficiently and cost effective worldwide. The professional and technical qualifications of our personnel, together with the use of technology in our fleet of trawlers, purse seiners and in our frozen products, surimi, fishoil and fish meal plants, ensure the company's continued growth.

El Golfo has a modern fleet of 10 vessels with a total hold capacity of 8,330 cubic meters, four of them with a refrigeration system (RSW) to fully preserve the freshness of the fish.

The fleet provides its daily catch to our state of the art fishmeal and fishoil plant, that processes 100 tons of raw fish per hour. The plant has three processing lines with a unique two step steam drying system, combining the best of rota tubes and rotadisc technology available, for a superior quality product.

Our main species caught is Jack Mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) and the proximity of the fishing zone together with our refrigerated fleet and plant pits ensure an optimum product freshness.

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