Industrial Plankton Premieres New Manufacturing Facility

Thanks to Algae Planet for featuring this story of our new manufacturing facility tour during the International Seaweed Symposium.

British Columbia-based algae photobioreactor manufacturer Industrial Plankton has tripled its production capacity with the acquisition and upgrade of a new manufacturing facility. The expansion positions the company to better meet global demand for its highly regarded PBRs and to continue advancing innovation in sustainable technology.

More than 50 guests from 12 countries, including the USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea, China, Mexico, Australia, the Netherlands, the UK, Norway, Italy, and Brazil, attended the facility’s launch, a feature of the 25th International Seaweed Symposium held in Victoria, B.C.

The tour’s focus was on Industrial Plankton’s Seaweed Bioreactors (SBRs), as they provide an integral technology that can help stabilize seed production for the growing seaweed industry. Visitors were guided through a multi-station tour, with small groups rotating through key topics: Seaweed Bioreactor Biology, Photobioreactor Overview, Seaweed Bioreactor Operations, and a Brief Company History.

Industrial Plankton’s highly automated SBRs make kelp seed production more bio-secure, reliable, and easy for operators to grow. The SBRs have an integrated fragmentation blade inside each vessel, allowing operators to fragment the cultures without the risk of contamination.

Throughout the tour, existing customers shared their own experiences using the equipment and discussed the science being done at Industrial Plankton and at their own facilities.

Following the discussions, the group reconvened on the shop floor to enjoy local oysters (fed as larvae from Industrial Plankton’s microalgae bioreactors), and kelp beer — brewed with Pacific seaweed, specifically for the 25th International Seaweed Symposium.

“We were thrilled that the International Seaweed Symposium provided the perfect opportunity for our first public tour of the new facility,” said Robert Roulston, CEO of Industrial Plankton.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Victoria, BC, Canada, Industrial Plankton is a global leader in the design and manufacture of turnkey microalgae and seaweed bioreactors, with installations in 35 countries.

Enjoy some other photos of the tour: