Brixham Trawler Agents (BTA) continues to invest in technology to improve the smooth running of the fish market and develop innovative new services and processes to position the port as THE place to buy and sell fish in the UK.
The latest projects to be undertaken include the introduction of solar panels to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, and the purchase of four new LPG operated forklift trucks to reduce fuel costs and lessen the impact on the environment.
Solar Panels
The solar energy system was supplied and fitted by Sun Energy Group and fully funded by BTA. As the fish market building is owned by Torbay Council, permission was required for the install which was received in February, work started in March, and the system went live in April.
The system uses a total of 420 panels, providing 120Kw of energy and should remove approximately 132,720 pounds of carbon from the atmosphere each year. BTA hope to get a return on their investment within 7 years.
LPG Operated Forklifts
As can be seen from the image below the forklifts are powered via LPG tanks mounted on the rear of the vehicles. Each tank should last approximately 24 hours before they need to be changed. Zero emission catalytic converters provide better operational protection than a completely electric system because of the salt-water environment they will be used in. These have been purchased from Exeter based, family run company, Westexe Forklifts Ltd. The forklifts will be supported by the two electric pallet trucks that we purchased from STILL, that are used specifically on the fish market floor.
Marel Fish Grading Machine
The above investments follow closely on from the £150,000 BTA spent on updating the new fish grading machine to an 11 gate grading system to bring Brixham in line with the rest of Europe. Partly funded by a grant from the MMO this system will encourage more trawler owners and buyers to use Brixham to land and buy their fish.
Brixham Trawler Agents will continue to invest in its staff, processes and plant to secure a strong future for Brixham and the fish market.
BTA
