PTG sets up shop in Scotland

Norway-based refrigeration specialist PTG is setting up a UK arm to serve the seafood industry. The company has appointed Julian Ramsey as General Manager for the new company, PTG UK.

PTG’s main markets in Scotland will be in the marine and industrial sectors, with solutions including RSW (refrigerated sea water) systems for ships, heat pumps, and freezing and ice production systems. PTG UK will provide sales and service for customers in catch fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing, including for facilities on land as well as fishing fleets and vessels for the aquaculture sector.

Terje Arnesen, Chief Executive Officer of PTG, said: “We’re establishing ourselves in Scotland to provide service locally for our existing customers in the fishing fleet and land-based fish farming. In addition, we want to strengthen our local sales and marketing of our products and solutions for the Scottish seafood market.”

Julian Ramsey has more than 30 years’ technical and management experience from the maritime industry, including as head of MacGregor’s fishery division in Peterhead, Scotland, since 2007. Ramsey will take up his new post on 1 August this year.

He said that no decision has yet been taken on where the PTG office will be located, but that this will be done during the summer. In addition to choosing a location, one of Ramsey’s first tasks will be to recruit more local service personnel for PTG UK.

Ramsey added: “We’re considering several alternative locations, with Peterhead or Fraserburgh among the most relevant. Peterhead is the largest whitefish port in Europe in terms of landing value, and includes a pelagic fleet and some large processing plants.

“Fraserburgh is home to a very large fleet of Scottish pelagic, prawn and whitefish trawlers. Since we’re also close to Aberdeen, we are only an hour’s flight from Shetland where a significant part of the Scottish pelagic fleet is based as well as a significant whitefish fleet.”

Terje Arnesen, CEO of PTG