As Ecuadorian shrimp feed producer Alimentsa continues integrating itself into BioMar Group, which acquired a 70 percent stake in the South American firm on 13 September, Danny Velez has been named general manager of Alimentsa and will oversee daily operations and help ensure a smooth acclimation period.
Velez, who previously served as Biomar's vice-general manager for nearly 25 years, will be taking over for the departing Roberto Boloña, BioMar announced on 20 November. Boloña leaves a strong company in his wake, with BioMar currently positioned “among the leading shrimp feed producers in Latin America,” said the high-performance feed enterprise, which is headquartered in Denmark.
“I fully respect the decision taken by Roberto Boloña and we highly appreciate his valuable contribution to Alimentsa during the past years,” BioMar VP for Emerging Markets Henrik Aarestrup said. "I am very satisfied that Danny Velez has accepted the new challenge securing continuity and taking lead in integrating Alimentsa into BioMar Group. We right now are focused on positioning Alimentsa even stronger in Latin America and we expect to be able to present very tangible actions within a short timeframe. I believe that we can together create synergies in regards to the development and delivery of high-end products and services to the Ecuadorian shrimp farmers.”
BioMar operates 13 feed factories in Norway, Chile, Denmark, Scotland, Spain, France, Greece, Turkey, China, Costa Rica, and now Ecuador via Alimentsa, which it purchased a major stake in for USD 119 million (EUR 105 million) earlier this year.
In his new role, Velez will have close contact with both customers and suppliers, and he’ll be working to seize developing opportunities for Alimentsa with the help of BioMar’s global innovations team.
“Personally, I am very honored to be chosen to lead this important step forward for Alimentsa,” Velez said. “I see a huge opportunity developing Alimentsa with support from the global innovation teams in BioMar. At the AquaExpo in Guayaquil, our customers were truly excited about the new opportunities ahead and I am sure that together we will make leaps and bounds towards contributing to the innovation of the aquaculture industry in Ecuador.”
