Omega Protein Constructing New Fish Oil Plant in Virginia, Contractor Identified

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE: OME) (Houston, Texas) is finalizing pre-construction activity to construct a new fish oil processing and refining plant in Reedsville, Virginia.

Near Omega's menhaden fish processing plant in Reedsville, the company will construct a $16 million state-of-the-art fish oil processing plant to produce 100 metric tons per day of fish oil used as additives for the food industry, medical care and dietary supplements markets.

Omega selected leading food and pharmaceutical industry builder Suitt Construction (Greenville, South Carolina) as the general contractor for the project and the companies Richmond, Virginia's office will running the job.

Plans for the refining, bleaching, winterizing and deodorizing plant include a two story 16,100 square foot main processing building, a 19,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse and a 5,000 square foot office building. Along with the automated processing and packaging equipment, a tank farm consisting of one 500,000 gallon tank and two 300,000 gallon tanks with some smaller 50,000 gallon tanks will be erected on the property to provide oil storage on-site.

Suitt hopes to begin clearing land and trees from the site by mid May of this year and have the plant fully operational in 12 months from starting construction.

Omega Protein Corporation is the nation's largest manufacturer of heart-healthy fish oils containing Omega-3 fatty acids for human consumption, as well as specialty fish meals and fish oil used as value-added ingredients in aquaculture, swine and other livestock feeds. Omega Protein makes its products from menhaden, an Omega-3 rich fish that is not utilized as seafood, but which is abundantly available along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coasts.