Neptune has announced that its Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada production facility has received all required operating permits and production will now resume. Its original facility was destroyed by an explosion in November 2012.
"This marks a new beginning for the corporation," said Andre Godin, interim chief executive officer and chief financial officer of Neptune. "We have laid the foundation for growth and are well positioned to reaffirm our role as a premier krill oil manufacturer."
The plant is said to feature robust safety measures to ensure the wellbeing of employees and state-of- the-art equipment, which allows for enhanced manufacturing practices. It has also been built to accommodate a doubling of capacity going forward. In addition to the plant, Neptune also recently opened a new laboratory, which allows for research, new product development, and quality analysis to be done in-house.
Production will commence gradually and the company said that it anticipates a ramp up period of around 90 days before reaching production capacity of approximately 150 metric tons of krill oil annually. The plant will focus on producing Neptune's krill oil, NKO.
Later this year, Neptune said that it will also make available three new condition-specific formulations, including:
· NKO BEAT: supports heart health and blood circulation
· NKO FLEX: supports bone and joint health
· NKO FOCUS: supports brain and vision health
Each of the new formulations have NKO as the main component along with additional ingredients to support the specific areas of the body targeted, such as Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) for the heart, vitamin D for bone and joint health; and thiamine and lutein for the brain and vision.
"In a market where product differences are scarce, Neptune's differentiated offerings, backed by a strong and recognised patent estate put the corporation in a solid position to capitalise on the fast growing omega-3 nutraceutical space," said Godin. "This is an exciting time for Neptune and we remain focused on strengthening our business, affirming our leadership as an innovator, growing our market presence and enabling a better, healthier way of life in today's world."
