Talking with customers: Ace Aquatec's visit to Chile
23 December 2025
Ace Aquatec has always recognised the importance Chile plays in the global aquaculture market, becoming one of the first UK companies to exhibit at the giant Aqua Sur show seven years ago, then opening an office in Puerto Montt in 2020, and last year expanding its presence in the region with a new sales lead.
Building on that momentum, Constanza Fontaine, Sales and Service Manager, has established a broad network of existing and potential customers who came together recently for Ace Aquatec’s inaugural Innovation Sessions in Chile.
These, held in the heart of the salmon farming area of Los Lagos, gave the company an opportunity to showcase its latest technologies and to learn more about the Chilean sector’s needs.
Delivered by Ace Aquatec Chief Executive Nathan Pyne-Carter, who spent a week in the country in October, along with Lead Scientist Niki Khan, Director of Engineering Michael Rennie and Senior Engineer Augustin Valdes, the presentations focused on the company’s A-BIOMASS® AI powered camera and A-HSU® humane stunning technology.
"Ace Aquatec differentiates itself from competitors by having a unique view, from the grow out, all the way through to the harvest station,’ said Pyne-Carter. "We monitor fish, we humanely stun, then we continue to monitor, creating a feedback loop with our AI systems, improving and honing our biomass algorithms, and creating a way to validate and improve the efficacy of our stunning technology."
"In Chile, the goal was to demonstrate how Ace Aquatec technology can improve fish welfare, sustainability and profit for the farmer", said Fontaine. "This was our first private event of this kind, allowing us to connect directly with existing and potential clients, demonstrate our products in action, and strengthen our presence in the region."
"We were able to highlight that we have a local team in Chile, with offices and a warehouse, staffed with people who can respond quickly to customers’ demands."
"But an even more important element than the presentations was listening to what our clients were saying whether they were reporting on good results from trials with A-BIOMASS® or making suggestions for possible improvements to our A-FISHIQ® portal. Nearly all the big players were represented at the sessions, and we were impressed by their input into the discussions."
"The level of technology on Chilean production sites is very high", said Fontaine, "and salmon producers want to trial the different options in the market. What Ace Aquatec offers with its A-BIOMASS® is more efficiency and precision in biomass measurement, with customers recording 99 per cent accuracy and higher against live weight at harvest. Furthermore, the camera is light at just 8.5kg and easy for one person to install and deploy. And unlike other AI cameras, which only detect one weight class in a pen, the A-BIOMASS® dual AI winch can move the camera across and up and down the pen, allowing the system to map the full distribution. The system can also see in tough conditions where others can’t, as customers, from Australia to Chile, have testified."
"This is because we don’t use lights, and instead we designed our cameras with low light sensors that can see in starlight conditions," said Pyne-Carter. "Our algorithms have also been trained to cater for high density shoaling."
Following the Innovation Sessions in Chile, five new customers, among them some of the major salmon farmers in the country, are trialling the A-BIOMASS® system.
"We are very pleased with the traction we gained from Nathan’s visit," said Fontaine. "On top of the demonstrable high performance of our technology, our strength here is having our own technical team and a very responsive after-sales service. Customers tell us that makes all the difference."
Ace Aquatec, which also looks after clients in Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Argentina from its Chile office, will be taking stand K-35 at Aqua Sur in March 2026, where its dialogue with the South American sector will continue.
